CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- More than 35 years ago, two orthopedic surgeons who both love food came together to create their own barbeque sauce, calling themselves the “Bone Doctors.”

“We both like to cook and like to grill and BBQ. So it kind of went from there and we spent two years on different recipes and torturing friends and family,” said co-founder David Heilbronner.

This passion started small but the popularity of the products rapidly grew into a full-blown business based in Charlottesville.

“There is a lot of creativity and you have to have a lot of tolerant friends who are willing to try things to see if the product works and taking it from the scale of your kitchen to a commercial size is another big step,” said co-founder Bruce Wilhelmsen.

Now in 2022, the Bone Doctors' reach is well beyond their home state.

“We cover all of the U.S. and we have a large customer in Germany who supplies much of the European Union for us,” said Heilbronner.

“And Costa Rica! We have been found on the shelves of Costa Rica,” Wilhelmsen added.

Bone Doctor’s BBQ sauce credits part of its success to Virginia National Bank.

“VNB has been with us, or we have been with them since the beginning of the company and they have been very helpful in times where we have had cash flow issues in terms of helping support us,” Heilbronner said.

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