Barbeque grills are as much a part of American life as 4th of July celebrations and apple pie, but there was a time when this was not the case. Webber Grills were not always the crème de le crème of the barbeque world.
Weber Stephens Products was started in the late 1800’s in Palatine Illinois. The company was a sheet metal industry that did a lot of custom work in the Chicago area. In the 1950’s the company’s co-owner George Stephen became frustrated with the uneven cooking and uncontrollable flame of the open brazier grills. He determined to build a better grill for his own backyard.
The company that he has worked for and owned had been building half-spheres that were welded together to form buoys which were used in Lake Michigan. Using the idea, he cuts one of the buoys in half and then built a dome-shaped lid with a handle cover. It might be the first of the kettle Webber Grills.
The reputation of the Webber grill parts took off faster than Stephens had anticipated and the units were selling quicker than he could build them. In 1952, he created the Webber Grills division of the company to supply the ever-increasing demand.
A few years later Stephens would buy the company from the Webber brothers and become sole owner at which time, he changed the name to Webber Stephen Product Co.
For the next two decades, the reputation of Webber grill and sales continued to get bigger. By 70‘s Webber Grills had spread from a simple product to a national Midwest. Retail stores from all-around the country started selling the grills. Shortly, the name of Webber was a common term for barbecue grill.
Today Webber grill always holds a special place in the grillers’ heart far and wide. While the kettle is the first model grill time and technology have enabled the company to develop a little. Now you are able to buy the grills in a variety of sizes, shapes and types of fuels.
In recent years, the interesting side business began to develop from Webber grills that are the Webber Grill Restaurant. Wheeling Illinois, built the first of the restaurants with three other arise in cities around the state. In 2007, the franchise has left the Illinois State with a grill being opened in Indianapolis.
Webber Grills are a family owned business dedicated to quality products, which is evidenced by customer satisfaction and the longevity of the business.