Barbecue grills are a part of American life as the celebrations of July 4 and apple pie, however there was a time when it wasn’t the case. Webber grills weren’t always the best of the best of the barbecue world.

Weber Stephens Products was started in the late 1800’s in Palatine Illinois. The company was a sheet metal industry that did a lot of custom work in the Chicago area. In the 1950’s the company’s co-owner George Stephen became frustrated with the uneven cooking and uncontrollable flame of the open brazier grills. He determined to build a better grill for his own backyard.

The company he worked for and owned had been creating half spheres that were welded together to form buoys that were used in Lake Michigan. Using this concept, he cut one of the buoys in half and then fabricated a dome shaped lid with handle for a cover. This would be the very first of the kettle Webber Grills.

The reputation of the Webber grill parts took off faster than Stephens had anticipated and the units were selling quicker than he could build them. In 1952, he created the Webber Grills division of the company to supply the ever-increasing demand.

A few years later Stephens would buy the company from the Webber brothers and become sole owner at which time, he changed the name to Webber Stephen Product Co.

For the next couple of decades the Webber grill reputation and sales continued to grow. By the 70’s Webber Grills had spread from a simple Midwest product to a national one. Retail stores from around the country began selling these grills. Before long, the name Webber was a generic term for barbeque grill.

Nowadays Webber grill always holds a special place in the grillers’ heart  far and wide. While the kettle is the first model grill time and technology have enabled the company to develop a little. Now you are able to buy the grills in a variety of sizes, shapes and types of fuels.

In the last few years, an interesting side business has begun to grow from Webber Grills that are the Webber Grill Restaurant. Wheeling Illinois built the first of these restaurants with three more popping up in cities around the state. By 2007, the franchise had left the state of Illinois with a grill being opened in Indianapolis.

Webber Grills are a family owned business dedicated to quality products, which is evidenced by customer satisfaction and the longevity of the business.

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