Cody was the guest pit master at a backyard BBQ party hosted by a mutual friend of the two. Erika had been invited to attend the party, as she was known as a BBQ Instagram reviewer in the Texas BBQ community and had met some great people throughout her BBQ adventures, but she had no idea, she was about to meet her BBQ King! Erika had previously seen Cody in a post online a few weeks before and recognized him immediately. She went up to introduce herself and well, the rest is history...or not, because this story is just about to get started. They briefly chatted and Cody mentioned he was grabbing lunch the next day at Interstellar BBQ and Erika responded that she was as well, it turns out, they were going with the same group of people. They meet for lunch and the conversation flowed like they were old friends, this was definitely going to be the start to a great friendship...so they thought. Lunch wrapped up and Cody was heading to pick up his new Moberg smoker a town over and they said their goodbye's. But, a lasting impression had been made. I am pretty sure at this point a follow on Instagram happened and at some point phone numbers were exchanged. Cody called Erika and they talked for hours on his drive home back to Ridgefield. They talked about childhood memories, vacations, likes, dislikes, I think all bases were covered at some point. Enough for Cody to invite Erika up for a visit to Hoodoo Brown BBQ a few weeks later. Cody picked Erika up at the airport and they spent an amazing Labor Day weekend hanging out at the restaurant with friends and enjoying the cooler weather. Before the weekend was over, sparks were flying and something inside them both knew this was something special. That was the beginning of a love story that has carried on for 6 years, through Covid, the loss of Erika's mom, grandparents and friends...but, through it all, Cody and Erika remained strong and have built a bond that can't be broken. He has been there through her daughter's college endeavors (ups and downs), her son's drivers ed horror stories, and so much more. She has been there to see him reach 10 years of a successful restaurant, many awards and numerous articles. To say they are both proud of each other is an understatement. The time has come to make it a lifetime commitment and they can't wait to start a new life together. They recently visited the place they were engaged at, Green Street Smoked Meats in Chicago and they reminisced about that day in July when Cody got down on one knee and asked the question she had been waiting for. Yes, Erika had already been married, but she had never been proposed to and boy oh boy, did he do everything right. Yes, they were engaged over a platter of BBQ too, they started life with BBQ and will have a life full of BBQ. Cody has found his queen and Erika has found her king. They are grateful for love, family, friends and life. Cheers to US. - Cody & Erika