In 1950, on a $500 loan from his father, Bill Miller opened a small poultry and egg business. Three years later Bill Miller Bar-B-Q began as a small fried chicken-to-go restaurant. Fried chicken led to hamburgers and then to barbecue. The second restaurant opened in February of 1963. Today there are 68 Bill Miller Bar-B-Q restaurants.
From the beginning, Bill Miller Bar-B-Q was a family business. Faye Miller served as a cashier and hostess while raising their four children. The children learned how to work and were raised learning the operations of the business. They worked in the restaurant during the summers and on weekends. When Bill Miller planned a vacation to Europe between Balous Miller's junior and senior years of college, Balous ran the restaurant business that summer and then decided to make Bill Miller Bar-B-Q his career rather than pursuing his plans for teaching school. Bill Miller semi-retired upon Balous' graduation in May of 1966. As his brothers, John and Douglas received their degrees, they joined him in the restaurant business. The three brothers and their brother-in-law, Louis Vance, have worked together now in excess of thirty years.
