04/20/2026
Some businesses survive. McCray's Backyard BBQ and Seafood has endured — for over 90 years, through every economic shift, every cultural change, every challenge that closes most businesses within their first decade.
Since 1934, this family business has been feeding its community. What began as local roots has grown, under Derrick McCray's leadership, into an operation generating over $1.5 million in annual revenue. And in a moment that captured what that kind of sustained excellence eventually produces, McCray's served at the Super Bowl — one of the most watched events on the planet, a stage that most restaurants will never reach.
But the Super Bowl appearance, impressive as it is, is not the most important thing Derrick McCray is building. His focus now is on franchising — expanding the model that has worked for 90 years — and on mentoring youth in his community about business ownership and generational wealth.
That last part is the legacy move.
A business that has existed for 90 years carries something more valuable than its revenue: it carries proof. Proof that Black-owned business can sustain across generations. Proof that a family can build something that outlasts any individual. Proof that starting local, building quality, and staying committed to a community can produce something that eventually serves at the Super Bowl.
Derrick McCray is not just running a business. He is transmitting a model — and deliberately ensuring the next generation understands what it takes to build something that lasts.
1934 to the Super Bowl. 90 years of feeding community. Now building the next generation to own what they build.
