LA Weekly Feature

Before Joe Gallagher Jr. was hand-pouring jars of marinara at midnight in a rented Charleston kitchen, he was standing on the brink of rock stardom. Known then as a rising musician and singer-songwriter, he was in contention for a renowned award nomination in 2017, riding the high of a breakout music career. But life, as it tends to, had other plans.

A violent rear-end collision with a diesel truck ended more than just a tour schedule. It took away Gallagher’s ability to play instruments, robbed him of vocal strength after two spinal surgeries, and catapulted him into a tailspin of depression and addiction. “I didn’t have feeling in my hands for four years,” he recalls. “I couldn’t play guitar, couldn’t sing. Everything I’d built… gone.”

That downward spiral led to a brush with the law when, in what Gallagher describes as a self-defense altercation, he was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He spent ten days in jail and years in his own mental prison before the case was dismissed, and the damage was done. “After that, no one would hire me. I thought my life was over,” he says. But Gallagher, now sober since March 2024, found redemption not on a stage but over a simmering pot of red sauce.

It started at a sobriety meeting, where Gallagher, nicknamed ‘Chef Giuseppe,’ brought in a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce, an old family recipe passed down from his Neapolitan grandmother. “Somebody said it was the best sauce they’d ever had,” Gallagher recalls. “They told me I should sell it. And for the first time in a long time, I thought to myself: why not?” That spark of encouragement ignited what would become Apastioli Specialty Foods.

In June 2024, Gallagher sold his first six cases to a local Piggly Wiggly. By October, he had more products on shelves and was stocked in stores across South Carolina. He sold approximately 10,000 jars in his first year, all made by hand, all-natural, with no advertising. Every tomato chopped, every jar filled, every label designed, Gallagher did it all himself. His marinara isn’t just sauce. It’s his second chance. It’s a story of grit, faith, and rebuilding life from the ruins.

But Apastioli is more than just a sauce brand: it’s a mission. Gallagher is mentoring a few people in recovery, helping them launch businesses ranging from landscaping to cleaning services. He shares, “It’s about giving people who’ve been written off a shot at something better. I’ve already helped three people start their own companies. I want to help hundreds.”

But his vision for the brand? Apastioli Farms at Longwing Plantation, a 1,716-acre farm-to-table, vertically integrated, solar-powered facility and community hub in Adams Run. Think goat yoga and equine therapy, along with farm-stay experiences, a distribution center for local food entrepreneurs, spiritual retreats, suicide prevention fundraisers, and a stage for people with stories like his to share hope. “It’ll be a place for healing,” Gallagher says. “A place to grow real food and real futures.”

To make this dream a reality, Gallagher is seeking investors who believe in redemption, resilience, and rural revitalization. He’s in conversation with venture capitalists and angel investors but is calling on purpose-driven partners who align with his heart-forward mission.

The farm will produce Apastioli sauces, host educational workshops, and serve as a private-label manufacturing space for others launching clean-label brands. And while the land will yield tomatoes and basil, the real harvest will be second chances. “This is from the soil to the soul,” Gallagher says. “We’re not just feeding bellies. We’re feeding purpose.”

Gallagher’s story is detailed in his 400-page memoir From Bars to Jars, available in print and audiobook. It’s raw. It’s honest. It’s everything that happened and everything that’s possible when one refuses to give up. “I just want to encourage people,” Gallagher concludes. “If I can come back from all that, so can they. Apastioli isn’t about me. It’s about what happens when someone believes in you long enough for you to believe in yourself.”