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West Philly food entrepreneurs take their sauce named for their late brother to the “Sharks”

October 28, 2016

West Philly entrepreneurial sisters Kelly (right) and Jorrae Beard will appear on “Shark Tank” tonight.

Shark Tank keeps casting Philly entrepreneurs, and it’s especially nice to see West Philly-based teams presenting their products on the show. This Friday, Oct. 28, tune in to watch sisters Kelly and Jorrae Beard pitch “Lulu Bang” BBQ Sauce to the “sharks.” There will also be the show watch party tonight at the Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.), beginning at 7:30 p.m. (this event has been sold out).

lulubangsharktankKelly and Jorrae are co-owners of Joyce’s Soulful Cuisine, a restaurant and catering business located at 59th and Chestnut that was named in memory of their mother, Joyce A. Beard. The sisters are also manufacturers of  “Lulu Bang” BBQ Sauce, which comes in four flavors – Asian Persuasion, BBQ Fusion, Bourbon Baby, and It’s Just HOT.  It’s now available in local shops throughout the Northeast region.

The name of the sauce is a tribute to Kelly and Jorrae’s brother, Michael “Lulu Bang” Beard, a National Guard veteran, who was murdered at the age of 32 in West Philadelphia, according to an article by Philly Mag

Joyce’s Soulful Cuisine has recently formed a partnership with The Enterprise Center’s Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises and is opening a mini-manufacturing facility at the center which will handle smaller orders, according to The Philadelphia Tribune. Their larger orders will be produced by River Run, a large-scale manufacturing facility.

Despite their success, the Beard sisters want to keep their business in West Philadelphia. “We are still here in West Philly. We won’t leave our mother’s house behind,” Kelly Beard told Philly Mag. “We have our business here because this is our home and this is our roots.”

If you want to try Lulu Bang Sauce you can buy it at ShopRite at ParkWest Town Center (1575 N 52nd St #400).

Tonight’s episode of “Shark Tank” airs at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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