Newswires

February 28, 2017 Newswires

Bill Ellis ‘a friend to everybody’

Wilson Daily Times (NC)

Feb. 28--The sign at Bill Ellis Barbecue is pictured Monday afternoon following founder William Lawrence "Bill" Ellis' death at age 83.

The sign at Bill Ellis Barbecue is pictured Monday afternoon following founder William Lawrence "Bill" Ellis' death at age 83.

Brie Handgraaf -- Times

Floodwaters swamped Bill's Barbecue and the surrounding businesses following Hurricane Matthew last October, leading law enforcement to close portions of Forest Hills Road and Downing Street. The restaurant was damaged in the flooding, but reopened after several days.

Olivia Neeley -- Times

Bill Ellis, founder of Bill Ellis Barbecue, is pictured after receiving the Sertoma Club's Service to Mankind Award. The entrepreneur and philanthropist died Monday at the age of 83.

Times File Photo

Bill's Barbecue Through The Years

--Bill Ellis started a hot dog stand with just $500 in 1963.

--As the menu expanded, so did the business with the start of catering in 1965.

--In the early 1970s, the first cooking truck was purchased.

--In the early 1980s, the first tractor-trailer was added to the catering fleet. Around the same time, Ellis also acquired a hog farm to manage the barbecue ingredients "from the squeal to the meal," as he said in a 1987 news interview.

--In 1986, Ellis received a patent for his design of a mobile kitchen and cafeteria unit.

--In the mid-to-late 1980s, Ellis sponsored a stock car racing team and teamed up with driver Richard Petty to develop a NASCAR-themed board game.

--When 7 feet of floodwaters from Hurricane Floyd damaged his restaurant and catering business in 1997, Ellis came back strong. Catering resumed five days after the flood and within weeks, a mobile kitchen and trailer was serving the beloved barbecue for a drive-thru. Three months after the September hurricane, Bill's reopened and launched the buffet.

--In the early 2000s, Bill Ellis Convention Center opened for business and would go on to host hundreds of events on an annual basis.

--In 2015, Ellis retired from working at the restaurant but maintained ownership.SClBSource: Ellis family records

The pig cookers at Bill Ellis Barbecue will get a break from churning out perfectly smoked pork this Thursday as the business is temporarily shuttered to allow the community to pay its respects to the restaurant's founder and namesake.

William "Bill" Lawrence Ellis, 83, passed away Monday from complications following a broken hip. The barbecue behemoth, who retired in 2015, spent more than 50 years of his life transforming a small hot dog stand into a community institution complete with a catering business that "served anywhere, anytime, one to a million."

"Bill was a successful businessman from his restaurant to his hog farm operation," said Norman Harrell, Wilson County's Cooperative Extension director. "He was a longtime supporter of our Wilson County 4-H Livestock Show and Sale.

"He certainly is a person that will be missed in our community."

BUILDING A LEGACY

Bill was born on April 25, 1933, and spent his youth helping his family on the farm and working other jobs. As a teenager, Bill developed a passion for racing, but a serious crash as a young adult prompted a career change. His stints as an electrician, U.S. Army medic and waiter at Parker's Barbecue came to an end when the 29-year-old took $500 and opened a hot dog stand in 1963 at the corner of Forest Hills Road and Downing Street.

"I've known Bill for 50 years or more, I guess," Wilson Mayor Bruce Rose said. "We used to go out to his restaurant and get hamburgers and hang out. It was one of the few places we had to hang around in those days."

It wasn't long before the demand for Bill's tender smoked pork and fried chicken outgrew the original 26-seat restaurant. Within two years, Bill's started catering and the eastern North Carolina barbecue was shared with people throughout the state, the country and eventually the world.

"Bill was a wonderful businessman who worked hard and did a whole lot for our community," Rose said. "His business got so good because he stayed around to run it, working day and night."

As the business grew, so did Bill's innovative side. He started a hog farm with state-of-the-art machinery, much of which Bill designed himself. His catering business started using a mobile kitchen and cafeteria unit patented by Bill in 1986 and his restaurant was expanded to meet demand.

When Hurricane Floyd sent 7 feet of floodwater into his restaurant and catering trucks, the area became an island that many jokingly called "Lake Ellis." Once the flooding subsided, employees and community residents joined the entrepreneur to get Bill's back in business. The catering resumed within five days and customers returned within weeks to fill their barbecue cravings through a temporary mobile kitchen and trailer. Despite millions in damage to the property, Bill converted the former picnic shelter and opened a buffet in the months following the hurricane and new trucks returned catering operations to full capacity.

"It'll take more than this little storm to knock us down," Bill told a Wilson Times reporter in 1999.

Within a few years, Bill opened an 18,000-square-foot convention center on the property and hosted hundreds of events every year.

"He really made something out of that corner there," said Donald Williams, friend and co-owner of Parker's Barbecue. "He done it and he done it good."

The Bill Ellis Barbecue property also flooded last October when Hurricane Matthew socked portions of Wilson County with up to a foot of rain in a 24-hour span. The intersection of Downing Street and Forest Hills Road was closed for several days.

Gov. Roy Cooper, who was then attorney general, toured the site with Sheriff Calvin Woodard Jr., and ABC's "Good Morning America" used the "Lake Ellis" barbecue complex as the backdrop for a segment on flooding in hard-hit eastern North Carolina.

THE MAN BEHIND THE GRILL

While many knew Bill from the restaurant, the Wilson County native was beloved off the clock as well. The father of three children, one of whom preceded him in death, and grandfather to six, Ellis loved to built things.

"He had this mind like an architect where he could draw up an idea he had, then he'd go and build it," said Tanya Neville, the sister of Bill's widow, Tracy Ellis. "He did all kinds of buildings, designed this house and all the landscaping, he build decks and piers on the lake."

The avid NASCAR fan turned his passion for the sport into a board game through a collaboration with legendary driver Richard Petty.

"When I close my eyes and think about Bill, I see red, white and blue," Neville said. "He loved the colors, he loved the flag and the U.S. When you walked through his restaurant, it is red, white and blue. He was very patriotic and that is what comes to my mind."

In 2015, Bill retired and fell from the spotlight to spend time with family and friends.

"He was the perfect gentleman," said Neville. "He was always complimentary and was an extremely loving husband. I can't even explain the love he had for his wife and vice versa."

Neville recalled being enlisted by Bill to surprise Tracy earlier this month.

"He had me pick up flowers, a card and a nice dinner," she said. "He loved surprising his wife and loved special occasions like Valentine's Day and Christmas."

Rose said he'll always remember Bill's full smile.

"I'd like to remember him as a friend to everybody," he said. "He was a nice guy who was well-respected and had a lot of good friends.

"Everyone thought the world of him."

Neville said it was Bill's compassion for animals that often went unnoticed, whether it was feeding seagulls with bread from the Discount Bakery Store or spending time with his 14-year-old cat, Vee. Whether he was helping two- or four-legged Wilsonians, Bill was known for keeping mum about his philanthropic efforts.

"He was truly generous and caring," Neville said. "You could get a flood of stories about all he did for others, but he never bragged about what he'd done."

Bill's passing was unexpected despite rumors he'd been in failing health. Neville said he was doing great until a fall on Feb. 21 sent him to the hospital with a broken hip.

"He had an awesome life," Neville said. "He just fell and we all thought it would just be a setback. We had no idea this would happen."

Funeral arrangements are pending with Joyner's Funeral Home, but Neville said the services will be open to the public and the restaurant is expected to be closed for the funeral.

"We're going to miss ol' Bill," Rose said. "He was always joking and talking with people. He was a fun fellow."

bhandgraaf@wilsontimes.com -- 265-7821

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