Sunstone Outdoor Kitchens: A Guide to 304 Stainless Steel Construction
If you're outfitting an outdoor kitchen and keep seeing the name Sunstone, here's what's actually behind it — and how to pick the right pieces for your space.
Who Makes Sunstone
Sunstone Metal Products is a family-owned, Texas-based manufacturer headquartered in Pflugerville, designing and building its grills, fire features, and outdoor kitchen cabinetry in the USA. The company's own description of itself is short and direct: Quality First, Texas Tough, Backed by Family. That Texas-built positioning is part of why Keystone Outdoor Systems carries the line — it's a manufacturer with the same regional roots as a lot of our customers' backyards.
What Makes Sunstone Different
- 304 stainless steel construction. Sunstone's Ruby Series grills and cabinet islands are built from 304-grade stainless steel — a heavier, more corrosion-resistant grade than the 430 stainless used in a lot of budget outdoor kitchen gear, which matters most once salt air, pool chemicals, and a few Texas summers get involved.
- A modular system, not just a grill. Every Sunstone drop-in grill, side burner, refrigerator, sink, and storage cabinet is designed to install into a shared island footprint, so you can buy one of Sunstone's pre-configured island packages or mix and match individual components into a custom layout.
- Two distinct cooking platforms. The Ruby Series covers standard gas grilling with Pro-Sear high-heat searing zones, while the StarBBQ line is built around smokeless charcoal and fire-pit cooking — genuinely different platforms, not the same grill in two finishes.
“Quality First • Texas Tough • Backed by Family.”
— Sunstone Metal Products
Choosing Between the Lines
Sunstone's catalog breaks down into a few distinct paths depending on how you're building your outdoor kitchen:
- Ruby Series grills — drop-in gas grills from 30" to 42", with Pro-Sear searing zones and an infrared rotisserie burner on the 4-Burner IR and 5-Burner models. The right starting point if you want a standard gas grill built into an island.
- StarBBQ — smokeless fire pit inserts and charcoal griller bases for live-fire and wood-fired cooking, several of which double as a fire feature and a cooking station in one footprint.
- Power Cirque — a bare high-BTU burner base you build out with a griddle, deep fryer/steamer insert, or standard grates, for boils, breakfast griddle work, or wok-style cooking.
- Outdoor Kitchen Islands — complete, pre-configured packages that pair a grill with matching cabinetry, refrigeration, and sinks, sized from compact 6-foot layouts up to 21-foot flagship builds.
- Outdoor Kitchen Components — refrigerators, sinks, ice chests, storage and warming drawers, grill covers, and power burners for building or extending a custom island.
Warranty Coverage
Sunstone backs its products with a manufacturer's warranty on covered components; exact terms vary by product line and part. Check the warranty documentation included with your order, or reach out to our team before you buy if warranty coverage on a specific model is a deciding factor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to buy a full island, or can I buy pieces individually?
Both. Sunstone's pre-configured island packages are the simplest way to get a complete, matched setup, but every grill, burner, refrigerator, sink, and cabinet component is also sold individually if you're building a custom layout or replacing a single piece.
What's the difference between the Ruby Series and StarBBQ?
The Ruby Series is Sunstone's standard gas grill line, built around Pro-Sear high-heat searing zones. StarBBQ is a separate platform built for charcoal and wood-fire cooking, with several models designed to work as a smokeless fire feature and a grill in the same unit.
Are Sunstone products actually made in the USA?
Yes — Sunstone designs and builds its products domestically, out of its Pflugerville, Texas facility.
Does an outdoor kitchen island include the countertop?
No — Sunstone's island packages include the grill, cabinetry, and specified appliances, but countertops are sold separately through a local fabricator so you can match the material and edge profile to your space.