NILES — Tyler Haines’ grandfather was a butcher. His father is a pit master. Haines is a cook and business owner. He said he always has friendly pressure from his family to make good barbecue.

From the time he was a child to now, as the owner of Curly Q’s BBQ on Wayne Street, Haines’ family has always been there to support him in his cooking endeavors. When he was a teenager, they would let him host after-school barbecues for his friends.

“I probably wasn’t supposed to be because I was always hearing the grown-ups’ conversations, but I was always the kid by the grill,” he said. “I always paid attention to it.”

Haines credits his family’s constructive criticism and cooking atmosphere for instilling consistency in cooking, and he believes consistency is one reason Curly Q’s has been successful. On June 23, Haines, his family and his staff celebrated the restaurant’s one-year anniversary with a Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Not only is Haines appreciative of his family’s critiques, he appreciates their faith in him. The Cassopolis native left his factory job and moved to Niles. He then started his barbecue business a walk away from his house, tucked next to two closed industrial plants that were once at the root of Niles’ economic success.

“Every day, I wake up to put my best foot forward, and there’s no corners cut,” he said. “The consistency, I want. When you talk about Curly Q’s, you know you’re getting a good meal.”

Haines said he spent years trying barbecue other than his own. The one issue that he constantly found was consistency. One day, a rib meal from one restaurant would be excellent. Another day, it would fall flat.

Haines said he always follows the same no-corners-cut routine. He will clean the meat, season it overnight and then cook it in batches off the grill throughout the next day rather than all at once in the morning.

“I’m going to give it to you how I like it,” he said. “It’s just the way I cook, and I keep a grasp on that because it’s easy to cut corners in this business, you know? That’s one thing I’m totally against.”

Haines said he does not want his ribs to go from juicy, flavorful food to dry beef jerky because he broke his routine.

The consistency of his customers has led to the success of his restaurant, too, he said. New people come from as far as South Bend and Benton Harbor, but so do local regular customers, who often order the same meal every week.

“When your customers become family and friends, it makes a difference,” he said. “It shows you that cooking from the heart does pay off.”

He said he tries to embody his business’ motto: “From our family to yours.”

Haines said making the food is easy — he has been doing it for years. It was the customer end of the business that took getting used to.

“A challenge was just how to cook, when to cook, but we got through it all,” he said. “I’m delivering a consistent product.”

With the help of his family, he said he now knows how essential preparation is. He will sometimes wake at 4 a.m. to stir the charcoal for that day’s grilling.

Haines said he has no major plans or events in the future for Curly Q’s. He just wants to deliver a consistent product.

He has, however, introduced fried fish and pig tips to his menu, which he said have been well received.

Haines is also excited for Niles’ future. He feels that a new generation of area entrepreneurs have been building up the area’s business sector not with capital, but determination. He is glad to be part of it.