It started in a backyard, before it ever got personal.

Zavala's Bash started in our backyard in 2017. No foundation, no fundraising, just barbecue and friends. In 2020 the Zavala Family Foundation was born, and that's when we started raising money, before Joe ever began his own battle with cancer.

Restaurant work doesn't come with a cushion. When a line cook gets a diagnosis, or a pitmaster's wife does, the bills don't wait for the shift to end. So we pay them: rent, treatment, groceries, whatever keeps the lights on while a family fights.

Then cancer came for Joe himself. He lives with it today, still behind the pit, and the mission stopped being an idea and became the entire job. Whether it's covering medical expenses or helping make ends meet, the foundation assists residents in Grand Prairie and beyond, and 5% of all Zavala's Barbecue rubs and sauces goes to the foundation.

"Six years later, that is still the entire job."

Help us keep the lights on for the next family.