Here is a little story.
A guy from Eagle Lake decides he wants to open a barbecue restaurant in his hometown.
Most people tell him it won't work.
He does it anyway.
That guy is Brandon Blackburn. And if you've spent any time near Eagle Lake in the last decade, you already know how this story ends.
It Started With A Food Truck
Before Blackburn's BBQ was a sit-down restaurant with 140 seats and a full bar, it was a food truck parked on the side of the road.
Brandon grew up in Polk County and attended Lake Region High School. His dad cooked, built a smoker from scratch, and Brandon paid close attention.
He started smoking meat on weekends and handing it out to whoever showed up.
People kept showing up.
By 2014, according to the Lakeland Ledger, he had quit his job with the city to focus on grilling full time. After three years of running the food truck and consistently selling out, he decided it was time to go permanent.
In May 2017, Blackburn's BBQ opened its doors at 169 5th St. in Eagle Lake. The building, as FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported in a 2025 feature, used to be a barbershop Brandon had frequented growing up.
The Early Days
When Blackburn's first opened, it wasn't a big operation.
35 seats. Customers walked up to a window, placed their order, and stood around eating good barbecue.
But the food was the food.
Oak-smoked meats. Custom-built smoker. Real wood, not gas. Everglades Seasoning from Sebring. Fresh meat every day. Brisket, pulled pork, ribs, smoked turkey. And a lineup of made-from-scratch sides including Mimi's corn casserole, smoked BBQ beans, southern potato salad, and creamy mac and cheese.
"Our smoker is custom built and we use real wood," Blackburn told the Polk News Sun in 2022. "It makes a difference."
It does. Polk County noticed.
What Makes Blackburn's Different
The food is the obvious thing. But there's something else going on at Blackburn's that you don't find everywhere.
Brandon walks the floor. He stops at tables. He checks in with customers personally.
General manager Tiffany Cribbs told FOX 13: "We want them coming in and feelin' like family."
That's not a tagline. It's how they actually run the place.
A loyal customer named Amie Hammock told the Polk News Sun that her family eats at Blackburn's at least four times a week. "We love the small-town atmosphere," she said. "The owner visits customers each time we go and the food is fast and consistent."
Four times a week.
You don't earn that without doing something right.
Walk through the front door and you'll also notice the walls...
Copies of the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence hang on the wooden interior. American flags in different versions are spread across the room.
When FOX 13 asked Brandon about it, he said: "There's a price to pay for everything when it comes to freedom. That's a big thing to me because I'm able to do this, to chase the American Dream."
The Expansion
By 2022, five years in, demand had outgrown the building.
Lines were forming. Wait times were climbing. Blackburn wasn't okay with that.
"We are getting busy and I don't want people to have to wait 30 minutes to an hour to be seated," he told the Polk News Sun.
So he expanded.
By October 2022, the new addition opened.
140 seats. A full bar. A larger kitchen.
Around 25 employees total, up from the original seven. He even hand-built parts of the exterior himself and did the landscaping.
"I like to have a place that looks good," he said. "I'm proud of a place that looks good."
The Blackburn family reflected on all of it in a Facebook post in June 2025, sharing the full origin story with their 33,000 followers:
"For the first five years, we operated with just 35 seats. Thanks to the incredible support of our community, we continued expanding. Today, Blackburn's BBQ has seating for 140 guests, a much larger facility, and even an overflow parking lot to accommodate the crowds."
From a food truck parked on the side of the road to overflow parking.
That's the arc.
What People Are Saying
Blackburn's sits near the top of nearly every "best BBQ in Florida" list you'll find online.
They came in as the number one BBQ in all of Polk County on our Best Food In Polk list, which is put together based on hundreds of local votes.
But it's not just our lists...
TripAdvisor reviewers consistently call it the best barbecue in the state. One put it plainly: "If you're anywhere near Eagle Lake, this is a spot you must try, it's Southern BBQ done right."
Another: "Holy cow. This was the BBQ I didn't know I needed. We were on our way to LEGOLAND and saw 9 or 10 motorcycles pull in. This is never a bad sign."
When bikers pull in, you follow.
Why This Story Matters
Eagle Lake has a population of just over 2,500 people.
It's not Lakeland.
It's not Winter Haven.
People don't typically drive out of their way to get to Eagle Lake.
They drive out of their way for Blackburn's.
That's what a great local business does. It makes the destination. It puts a small town on the map for people who had no reason to go there before.
Brandon Blackburn grew up here, went to school here, and watched his dad build a smoker in the backyard. He decided that was enough of a foundation to build something on.
He started with a weekend food truck. Quit a steady job. Tuned out the skeptics. And built one of the most recognized BBQ spots in the state of Florida.
He didn't do it with investors or a franchise model.
He did it with real wood, real meat, and a genuine commitment to making people feel like family.
That's the kind of story Polk County produces.
Visit Blackburn's BBQ
Address: 169 5th St., Eagle Lake, FL 33839
Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Phone: (863) 287-9975
Facebook: Blackburn's BBQ
Instagram: @blackburns_barbecue
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