Bringing Gourmet Lifestyles Outdoors Since 1906™

In 1998, while digging through an old steel filing cabinet, Geoffrey Bullard found his great grandfather Lewis Bullard's original plans for an outdoor grill built in 1906 for W.E. Upjohn. At the time Geoffrey was running KSM, his great grandfather's business otherwise known as Kalamazoo Sheet Metal.

The Birth of the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Grill

It was at that moment the modern Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet grill was born, but its roots are in the sheet metal division of Acme Hardware in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which was incorporated by Lewis Bullard in 1906 as Kalamazoo Sheet Metal.

Kalamazoo Sheet Metal manufactured many of Lewis Bullard's inventions, including one of the first slot machines, The Mighty Kalamazoo, and the first folding daybed. Kalamazoo Sheet Metal's greatest success was in manufacturing some of the first compression machines for making pills for Upjohn. And, of course, Kalamazoo Sheet Metal created original gourmet grills for W.E. Upjohn and many other locals.

Geoffrey Bullard followed the inspiration he uncovered from his great grandfather in 1998, and today he is the chief designer of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet grills. Like his great grandfather, Geoffrey takes a unique approach to his designs. Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet grills are regarded by many chefs and industry experts to be the ultimate grill, offering a host of exclusive innovations: the Hybrid Grilling Drawer System for cooking with wood, charcoal and gas; the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet original Dragon Burner™; the custom laser-cut cooking surfaces, the side-mounted smoker box; the deep hopper that reduces flare-ups and improves heat dynamics; and the fully-framed structural engineering that will never wobble or fail. Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet also pioneered the use of infrared gas burners.

Much as the company did with that first grill, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet revels in conjuring up ways to create the best outdoor gourmet experiences. Stay tuned to see what we come up with next.