Williams Food Company was founded in Detroit, Michigan in 2017 by Alex Williams. After working as a mechanical engineer in Detroit’s automotive industry for more than 20 years, Alex started the company to pursue his long time passion for making great food that makes people happy. Williams Food Company was made possible by Christian Faith, and tremendous support and encouragement from family and friends. It continues because of support from customers like you!

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I started cooking at age 11 and I learned very quickly that I liked making food for people. Whether I was making omelets, pancakes or canned-biscuit coffee cake, I felt more energized and more creative when I was in the kitchen than anywhere else. When it came time to choose a college, I put food in the back seat and pursued a career in mechanical engineering but my roommates would agree that I never lost interest in cooking and entertaining around food. My “skills” on our off-campus backyard grille, earned me the nickname “Gus” which is still with me over 20 years later.

Throughout my career as an automotive mechanical engineer, I looked for ways to simultaneously pursue my own food business. However, my efforts to fund my business through real estate investment profits didn’t survive the 2008 recession and my catering business taught me that catering wasn’t for me. Ironically, it was my failed first attempt at barbecue that spawned my interest in barbecue sauce.

While the ribs were hardly salvageable, the sauce definitely had promise. Trying out early versions on family, friends, church members and at fund-raisers, I received the positive feedback and encouragement (sometimes belligerent) that I needed to develop my first retail sauce. My flagship “Original” launched in 2020, followed 1 year later by “Apple-Chipotle”, “Five-Spice” and “Pineapple-Habanero” and then “Detroit Bourbon” in 2022. And there are more great products to come!

I am truly grateful to all of those who have supported me through each of the stages of life that brought me here. Thank you for getting to know a little more about me. Enjoy the site and enjoy the sauce!

- Alex