Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

What Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q does

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q is a privately held, full-service Southern barbecue restaurant chain founded in 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama, operating 40+ company-owned locations across seven southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). The company generates revenue primarily from dine-in and drive-thru restaurant service, with secondary streams from catering (full-service, delivery and set-up, pickup, and wedding-specific packages), off-premise ordering via olo.com and a DoorDash delivery partnership, a retail merchandise e-commerce storefront, gift cards, and the JNN Club email loyalty program.

The underlying operating model centers on a standardized pitmaster process: pork and beef are hickory-smoked for 12 hours, and all food is prepared from scratch in kitchens without freezers or microwaves. Trade-secret-protected signature sauces (Original Bar-B-Q, Morgan Co. White, Carolina Mustard) and generational recipes are positioned as core differentiators. Catering pricing is published per-person ($13.99 boxed lunch; $15.49–$17.49 for one-, two-, and three-meat combos) and by the pound for individual meats ($17.99/lb pulled pork to $34.49/lb brisket). A formal community giving program supports local schools, veterans, and health non-profits.

Customer concentration is broad and consumer-facing: revenue is built on high-volume, low-ticket individual and family dining plus distributed SMB and consumer catering, with no enterprise anchors. The technology stack is deliberately analog at the kitchen level, augmented by commodity digital infrastructure (olo.com ordering, DoorDash, WordPress-based website with WCAG 2.1 AA remediation in progress) and basic CRM via the JNN Club loyalty program. The company has no mobile app, no disclosed API, and no AI/ML capabilities; competitive advantage rests on brand heritage, craft execution, and multi-modal distribution rather than technology differentiation.

Name

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

Legal name

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

Website

https://www.jimnnicks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q is a privately held Southern barbecue chain founded in 1985, operating 40+ company-owned restaurants across seven southeastern US states with on-site 12-hour hickory smoking, scratch kitchens, multi-tier catering, and digital ordering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining BBQ Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB)

Keywords

• Slow-smoked barbecue
• Restaurant dining
• Event catering
• Drive-thru service
• Online food ordering

Headquarters

HQ city

Vestavia Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-In Restaurant Sales: Full-service restaurant dining with sit-down experience alongside drive-through service, generating revenue from menu items including smoked meats, sides, sandwiches, burgers, and desserts.
2. To-Go and Delivery: Curbside pickup, online ordering through olo.com platform, and DoorDash delivery partnership for off-premise consumption.
3. Catering Services: Full-service catering for events including weddings, corporate functions, and parties with buffet setup, dedicated staff, and customizable menus. Also offers delivery-only and pickup catering options.
4. Retail Merchandise: Online merchandise store selling gift cards, cheese biscuits, seasoning variety packs, sauces, and branded merchandise like hats.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q operates a chain of casual dining restaurants serving slow-smoked Southern barbecue (pork, beef brisket, turkey, chicken, and ribs smoked for 12 hours over hickory wood). Offerings include dine-in, drive-thru, curbside/to-go, online ordering, delivery via DoorDash, full-service catering for events and weddings, branded retail merchandise, gift cards, and the JNN Club loyalty program across 40+ locations in seven southeastern US states.

Product overview

Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q is a Southern BBQ restaurant chain offering a unified dining experience across dine-in, drive-thru, and takeout channels. The core product portfolio centers on slow-smoked meats (pulled pork, beef brisket, turkey, chicken, spare ribs) served with traditional sides. The offering extends through catering services (Full-Service Catering, Delivery & Set-Up, Pickup, and Wedding Catering), a loyalty program (JNN Club), gift cards, and retail merchandise (Shop Jim 'N Nick's). The company operates primarily in the Southeastern United States with locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dine-In Restaurant Service Sit-down dining experience offered at Jim 'N Nick's restaurant locations across seven southeastern states, featuring 12-hour slow-smoked meats and scratch-made sides.
• Drive-Thru Service Drive-through ordering and pickup of barbecue meals at company-owned restaurant locations.
• Curbside & To-Go Ordering Online ordering and curbside pickup service that lets customers place digital orders and collect them at the restaurant without leaving their vehicle.
• DoorDash Delivery Third-party delivery of Jim 'N Nick's menu items to customers' homes through the DoorDash platform.
• Full-Service Catering Full-service catering with dedicated staff, buffet setup, action stations, and maintenance for corporate events, weddings, and large gatherings.
• Delivery & Set-Up Catering Catering option where Jim 'N Nick's delivers food and arranges the buffet setup, but the customer serves themselves without on-site staff.
• Catering Pickup Self-service catering pickup packages containing meats, sides, buns, sauces, and disposable serviceware that customers transport and set up themselves.
• Wedding Catering Dedicated full-service barbecue catering for wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners, with hickory-smoked meats, buffets, and interactive action stations.
• Gift Cards Physical and digital Jim 'N Nick's gift cards redeemable at company restaurant locations.
• JNN Club Loyalty Program Email-based loyalty and rewards program offering exclusive deals, offers, location-specific rewards, and a free pork sandwich reward for new members.
• Shop Jim 'N Nick's Retail Merchandise Online retail store selling cheese biscuits, BBQ seasoning variety packs, signature sauces, and branded apparel such as the Black Hat.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDoorDash delivery partnership allowing customers to order Jim 'N Nick's barbecue for home delivery through the DoorDash platform, extending the brand's delivery reach.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sonny's BBQ: Sonny's BBQ is a direct peer operating a Southeastern US chain of slow-smoked BBQ restaurants with dine-in, catering, and to-go service — directly comparable to Jim 'N Nick's in cuisine, format, and regional concentration.
• Dickey's Barbecue Pit: Dickey's is the largest BBQ franchise chain in the US with dine-in, drive-thru, catering, and delivery across dozens of states — directly comparable to Jim 'N Nick's on menu, catering focus, and omnichannel model, though more franchised and nationally distributed.
• Mission BBQ: Mission BBQ operates a fast-growing chain of American BBQ restaurants with dine-in, drive-thru, and catering across the Eastern US — comparable to Jim 'N Nick's on cuisine, format, and event-driven catering.
• Famous Dave's: Famous Dave's is a publicly traded BBQ restaurant chain with dine-in, takeout, catering, and a CPG retail line — comparable to Jim 'N Nick's on full-service BBQ, catering, and emerging retail merchandise revenue streams.

Broad incumbents

• Texas Roadhouse: Texas Roadhouse is a national casual dining steakhouse chain that competes with Jim 'N Nick's on dine-in occasion for BBQ-adjacent American fare, with broader menu and far larger national footprint.
• Cracker Barrel: Cracker Barrel is a national country-store-and-restaurant chain serving Southern comfort food including BBQ — overlaps with Jim 'N Nick's on Southern casual dining occasion and catering, but operates at far larger national scale.

Regional players

• Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill: Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill is a Southern California-based BBQ and American grill chain — comparable to Jim 'N Nick's on scratch-kitchen BBQ and full-service dining, but serves a West Coast geography.
• Dreamland BBQ: Dreamland BBQ is an Alabama-based BBQ institution founded in 1958 — directly comparable to Jim 'N Nick's on Alabama heritage, slow-smoked ribs and pork, and Birmingham origin story.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JimNNicksBBQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/JimNNicks
• Instagraminstagram.com/jimnnicksbbq

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q