If you spent any time watching Shark Tank between 2013 and 2017, you definitely remember Al "Bubba" Baker. He wasn't just some guy with a recipe; he was a former NFL defensive end with a massive personality and a patent for de-boning baby back ribs. It seemed like the ultimate "American Dream" story. A retired athlete solves a messy problem—ribs you can eat with a knife and fork—and lands a massive deal with Daymond John.
But if you go looking for Bubba's Q boneless ribs at your local grocery store today, you're going to find an empty shelf. Honestly, the story of what happened to this brand is one of the most complicated and cautionary tales in the history of reality TV investing. It’s not just about barbecue; it’s about lawsuits, restraining orders, and a business partnership that turned into what the Bakers called a "nightmare."
The Rise and Fall of Bubba's Q Boneless Ribs
When Al Baker walked into the tank, he had a real problem. His wife, Sabrina, hated how messy ribs were. So, Bubba spent years perfecting a process to pull the bones out of a rack of ribs while keeping the meat entirely intact. It was brilliant. Daymond John thought so too, initially offering $300,000 for a 30% stake.
For a while, things were explosive.
The brand scaled quickly. They partnered with Rastelli Foods Group, a massive meat processor, to handle the heavy lifting. Suddenly, Bubba's Q was everywhere—QVC, Hardee's, Carl's Jr., and thousands of grocery stores. By 2017, the company had reportedly done $16 million in sales. You’d think everyone was getting rich, right?
Not exactly.
The relationship between the Baker family, Daymond John, and Rastelli Foods began to rot from the inside out. By 2023, the family went public with some pretty heavy accusations. They claimed they only saw about 4% of that $16 million in revenue. They also alleged that Daymond John tried to take over their business and that the terms of the deal were changed behind the scenes.
The Legal War and the Permanent Injunction
It got messy. Fast.
Daymond John didn't just sit back and take the hits on social media. He fought back, claiming the Bakers were spreading a "false narrative" and violating non-disparagement agreements they’d signed years earlier. In July 2023, a federal judge in New Jersey sided with John and Rastelli Foods.
The court issued a permanent injunction against Al Baker, his wife, and his daughter, Brittani. Basically, they were legally barred from making any more disparaging comments about Daymond John or the business partnership. They had to scrub their social media of those "nightmare" videos.
As of early 2026, here is the current state of the business:
- The Website: BubbasBonelessRibs.com is gone. It’s been offline for a significant amount of time.
- Availability: You cannot buy these ribs at major retailers anymore. If you see a listing on a site like DoorDash or a regional grocer's website, it's almost certainly "out of stock" or a ghost listing.
- The Patent: While Al Baker holds the patent for the de-boning process, the business entity itself is effectively shuttered.
- The Family: The Bakers have mostly retreated from the public eye regarding the rib business, though Al has been active with other ventures, including a podcast.
Why You Can't Find the Ribs Anymore
It’s easy to blame "corporate greed" or "bad entrepreneurs," but the reality is usually in the boring details. In many food businesses, the margins are razor-thin. When you add in co-packing fees, distribution costs, marketing, and the "Shark's" cut, there isn't always much left for the founder.
The Bakers felt they were being robbed of their legacy. Daymond John's team argued that the business was just expensive to run and that the Bakers didn't understand the accounting.
One big point of contention was a deal with Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. worth over $5 million. The Bakers claimed they only saw a few thousand dollars in profit from it. To a small business owner, that feels like a scam. To a massive food distributor, that might just be the cost of doing a high-volume, low-margin promotion.
Whatever the "truth" is, the brand couldn't survive the infighting. You can't run a national food brand when the founders and the investors are suing each other in federal court.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Entrepreneurs
If you were a fan of the product or you’re an entrepreneur looking at the Shark Tank path, there are some real lessons here.
For those looking for the product:
Stop searching the frozen aisles. Bubba's Q boneless ribs are no longer in production. If you want that flavor, your best bet is to look for "country-style ribs" at your local butcher—which are actually just sliced pork shoulder—and use a high-quality dry rub. It’s not the same as the de-boned rack, but the texture is the closest you’ll get.
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For entrepreneurs:
- Watch your accounting like a hawk. The Bakers claimed they didn't have access to their own bank accounts and that Rastelli handled the books. Never let a partner have 100% control over the visibility of your cash.
- Understand "Gross" vs "Net." $16 million in sales sounds amazing. But if it costs $15.5 million to make, ship, and sell those ribs, you're only spliting $500,000.
- Non-disparagement clauses are real. Once you sign a settlement, you lose your right to "vent" on TikTok. The legal system doesn't care about your feelings; it cares about the contract you signed.
The era of Bubba's Q boneless ribs is officially over. It stands as one of the most successful products to ever hit the show in terms of sales volume, and one of the most tragic in terms of the human cost and the destruction of a family's dream.
Check your local barbecue specialty shops for small-batch "boneless" alternatives, but as far as the patented Bubba Baker version goes, that chapter of food history has closed.