Check Out Joshua Poling’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Poling.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
An easy place to start would be March. My childhood friend Adam Marley reached out asking me to sign an NDA to look at this business for sale. I resisted. But, this story starts much earlier…in fact, it predates even yours truly.

For generations my Mom’s family has used the bounty of Appalachia to feed themselves. They roam the hills and hollers picking ramps, morels, black raspberries, and anything else that grows wild in our mountains.

Mom grew up on a working farm. Not for money, but as a way to feed a family of 7. Everyone had a job. Mom took care of the chickens and collected eggs.

But every fall was the highlight. It was hog killing time. Relatives would gather on my Grandfather’s farm in Moatsville and using a makeshift slaughterhouse on his land they would prepare themselves for winter just as every generation before them had prepared. They cut chops, they canned, they cold packs, mixed breakfast sausage, and of course, they would hang hams.

I never got to be part of any of that really. I was the baby of the baby of the family and cancer took my Grandfather from this world at a young age.

I have always considered all of those things part of me though, and not in a “oh that’s cool” way, but in a “this is the part of fabric of who I am” kind of way.

West Virginia has always been my story of where I’m from, but Kentucky has always been the story of home. We know a thing about hams in Kentucky also.

I have made my entire career as a Chef about telling Kentucky’s most wonderful stories through food. At my restaurant Hickory & Oak we buy from local farms, we serve 180 bourbons, our tap list tends to display the best of Kentucky Craft Brewers, we let you taste Wagyu raised just minutes away from our restaurant, and of course we always try to show off country ham.

Since the days of my first restaurant Home Cafe (est 2011) when I needed great ham or great bacon there was always one name: Broadbent. To say it has always been one of my favorite ingredients would be an understatement. There is not a more enjoyable serving of food than country ham, true buttermilk biscuits, real butter, and Kentucky sorghum. If I’m on death row that’s my meal.

When truffles came in last season I knew exactly what I wanted to serve to show them off: Danny’s Pasta Company & Focacciaria fresh pasta with black truffle butter served on a bed of shaved Broadbent heritage ham. I served it at a Chef Table one night and pulled out my phone to snap a picture.

Thank goodness I took that picture.

I posted it and the next day I was reading comments and my childhood friend Adam Marley commented asking if he could order that dish. They told me when they would be in and I prepared the dish for them. Adam said it was one of the best things he’d ever eaten.

In March Adam reached back out to me. He wanted me to sign a NDA to look at this business for sale. I explained I ran restaurants and that’s what I did so unless it was a restaurant, I had no interest. It was not a restaurant. So Adam did what any reasonable business broker would do when being told no…he reached out to my business partner and asked him to make me sign the NDA. My business partner bugged me enough that I finally caved.

I opened up the package presenting the business for sale at the very top it said those magic words: BROADBENT.

I immediately put the packet down. I didn’t need to see anything else. I knew my life was going to change forever.

I headed over to my Dad’s house. I knew I was way too emotionally attached to this and I needed better judgement. My father is a retired accountant with a long history of working in acquisitions- something that was brand new to me. Dad reviewed everything and as excited as my father ever gets, without any sign of emotion he handed me the papers back and said, “Sounds like a great opportunity.”

I went back to the restaurant and ran service. When I came home my wife Chelsey was washing dishes. I’ll never forget it. I walked through the door and after brief small talk, I told her I got approached about a business that is for sale. Chelsey was only half listening. “Oh yeah?” She said. “Yeah… It’s Broadbent Chelsey.” For a moment she stopped washing, turned and looked me right in the eyes, nodded her head, and turned around to keep washing.”

Four days later we were driving to Kuttawa, KY to meet with the owners. Imagine going to meet some of your heroes and asking them to hand you the torch. I didn’t even look at it as a business meeting. I wanted this family to know I knew Broadbent, I understood it, I loved it, and I wanted it. And that’s what I did.

Chelsey and I drove to have lunch after at the legendary Knoth’s BBQ. “So what are you thinking?” She asked. “I’m going to pass.” I replied. She was shocked. “What do you mean you’re going to pass Josh?” I explained to her that I loved Broadbent and of course I wanted it. It is the perfect representation of my entire life story. But I had another love that already identified who I was… my restaurant Hickory & Oak. I explained to her I wasn’t ready to leave H&O. I simply love what we do. I’m great at it. We are great at it. And I was nowhere near ready to step out of it.

“So do both” was Chelsey’s reply.

That was all I needed to hear.

Life has been insane since then. We had a baby boy in May of 2024 and bought the Broadbent legacy in about 30 days later. I currently split time between Kuttawa and Bowling Green. Hickory & Oak countinues to thrive as I pass off more my leadership responsibilities and after some very hard months I feel like we’re starting to get the hang of things.

Broadbent was started in 1909. The Broadbent family owned it for 90 years before selling it to Ronny and Beth Drennan who really defined the Broadbent I know and love. After 25 years they were ready to retire and we became the third family to indepently own the 100+ year old Kentucky business. We salt cure country hams, heritage ham, bacon, and make smoked breakfast sausage. Our product is available at specialty stores throughout the state as well as online and via mail order catalog. We also are in the best restaurant kitchens nationwide.

Last year Broadbent once again won Grand Champion at the State Fair. Ronny and Beth became the first team to ever win the honor four years in a row. We also set a world record when the ham sold for $10.5 Million at the Country Ham Breakfast. Without question they are the best to ever do it and that’s who I got to learn from.

I also wanted to do this to tell my kids about some day. I have a 3 year old daughter and 8 month old son who are the single greatest thing I’ve ever done. It seems like no one wants to do hard things or take chances anymore.

Broadbent is one of Kentucky’s greatest legacies. I wanted that. I wanted that responsibility. I wanted to make sure it stayed a Kentucky company. I wanted to make sure we kept making country hams. And I want to tell my kids some day this is how we built this.

The Drennans have become like family. They still advise me on a newer daily basis, and I always feel a sense of relief when they show back up to the factory. We all miss them tremendously. The whole industry misses the Drennans so much. We must fill the holes left by giants, but I want that challenge.

Last year two more Kentucky country ham facilities closed their doors. A state that used to seem to have a ham producer in every community has seen that number now dwindle to just a handful of producers.

We are going to work as hard as we possibly can to make sure that Broadbent not only survives, but rather thrives. But we’ll always need help from you: The Broadbent Family.

I bet a lot of you have been eating our ham longer than Ive been alive. Thank you. If you’re reading this and have never heard of us, give us a try!

You don’t have to spend money to help us out either! You can help right away by expanding our social media outreach. Go to our social media pages, like them, and share them please.

If you’re in the market for the best bacon or country ham you’ve ever tasted give us a shout or order from our website www.broadbenthams.com. Or if you need presents for clients we ship all over the US.

We’re not changing the bacon, ham, or sausage. You have my word. But we have a lot of new and exciting products we’re working on that will show how great I think this company will be.

At this point I can promise you no one cares more about seeing Broadbent thrive than I. Beth Drennan told me she prayed to find someone she thought could run this company the right way and then I walked through their door. I think we all knew within 10 minutes that we had all been brought there at that moment for a very specific purpose.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been as smooth as anyone could hope for when acquiring a 100+ year old business

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Broadbent’s has been curing country hams, bacon, and smoked sausage since 1909. We are Kentucky’s greatest country ham legacy with 23 Grand Champion Country Hams at the Kentucky State Fair and the World Record $10.5 Million ham sold last year!

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Between my restaurant and Broadbent, I now employ over 70 people. Each and every one of those people deserve credit as I depend on them daily to show up , do their job, and help make some magic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.broadbenthams.com
• Instagram: @broadbenthams
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BroadbentHams/