This Is It!

What This Is It! does

This Is It! Southern Kitchen & Bar-B-Q is a privately held regional restaurant chain headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations dating to approximately 1983–1984. The company serves Southern-style barbecue and comfort food through dine-in service at its restaurant locations (Atlanta and Fayetteville, Georgia), direct takeout and delivery via its own digital channels, and third-party delivery aggregators. Its customer base is primarily local consumers and families seeking traditional Southern cuisine with modern ordering convenience.

The company's core technology stack, as refreshed in May 2026, consists of a redesigned website with integrated online ordering, a newly launched mobile application, and an upgraded loyalty program branded Delicious Rewards. These direct digital channels sit alongside established delivery partnerships with Grubhub (recently expanded to all locations), Uber Eats, and DoorDash, giving the chain multi-channel ordering access without operating its own delivery fleet. The proprietary features disclosed — integrated web ordering, mobile app, and loyalty infrastructure — are positioned as ease-of-use improvements rather than technical differentiators.

The business model is a hybrid of traditional restaurant revenue (dine-in and takeout food sales) and digital-enabled revenue (direct online/app orders plus third-party delivery transactions). Pricing is structured around à la carte menu items supplemented by a value promotion — the "Real Deal $10 Meal" offered at the Fayetteville location for lunch or dinner. The chain is independently owned, with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or funding history, and operates at a regional scale with 251–500 employees.

Name

This Is It!

Website

https://thisisitbbq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

This Is It! Southern Kitchen & Bar-B-Q is a privately held Atlanta-based regional restaurant chain founded circa 1983, serving Southern barbecue and comfort food to local consumers through dine-in locations in Atlanta and Fayetteville, Georgia, plus direct online and mobile ordering and third-party delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Fayetteville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in and Takeout Food Sales: Revenue generated from customers dining in at restaurant locations or placing takeout orders directly through website or mobile app.
2. Third-Party Delivery Orders: Revenue from delivery orders placed through Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash platforms, which complement direct ordering channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

This Is It! Southern Kitchen & Bar-B-Q operates a regional restaurant chain serving Southern-style barbecue and comfort food through dine-in, takeout, and delivery channels. The company provides catering services and enables orders via its own website and mobile app, complemented by third-party delivery platforms (Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash). It also operates a customer loyalty program called Delicious Rewards to support repeat visits.

Product overview

This Is It! Southern Kitchen & Bar-B-Q is an Atlanta-based restaurant chain with over 40 years of service, offering a unified product portfolio centered on its redesigned website with integrated ordering, new mobile app, and the Delicious Rewards loyalty program. The core digital experience comprises the website and mobile app for direct ordering, complemented by the loyalty program to drive customer retention. The company has also expanded its reach through third-party delivery integrations with Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash, combining Southern culinary tradition with modern digital convenience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Southern BBQ and Comfort Food Dining Service Full-service dine-in and takeout restaurant offering Southern-style barbecue and comfort food to local consumers and families in the Atlanta and Fayetteville, Georgia markets.
• Catering Services Catering services providing Southern BBQ and comfort food for events, group meals, and gatherings.
• Online Ordering (Redesigned Website and Mobile App) Digital ordering service via the redesigned company website and a new mobile application, allowing customers to browse the menu and place food orders directly online.
• Third-Party Delivery Service Home delivery of Southern BBQ and comfort food orders fulfilled through Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash platforms across all restaurant locations.
• Delicious Rewards Loyalty Program Loyalty rewards program offering points and rewards to repeat customers, with upgrades rolled out as part of the 2026 brand enhancement initiative.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GrubhubcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGrubhub partnership enables delivery availability across all restaurant locations, complementing existing partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash. This expansion reflects the brand's strategy to combine Southern culinary tradition with modern digital convenience and accessibility.
• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExisting delivery partnership providing on-demand food delivery service to customers. Part of the multi-platform delivery strategy.
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExisting delivery partnership providing on-demand food delivery service to customers. Part of the multi-platform delivery strategy.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Waffle House: Waffle House is an iconic Atlanta-based, 24/7 diner chain serving Southern comfort food across the Southeast. It overlaps with This Is It! on Southern cuisine and the Atlanta-area diner market, though it skews lower-price breakfast/quick-service rather than BBQ-specific.
• Bojangles': Bojangles' is a Charlotte-based quick-service chain specializing in Southern-style chicken, biscuits, and Cajun-seasoned sides, concentrated in the Southeast. It is a comparable Southeast-focused Southern QSR brand competing for similar regional customers and occasions.
• Zaxby's: Zaxby's is a Georgia-based, Southeast-focused chicken-fingers QSR chain with strong Atlanta-area presence. It competes with This Is It! for casual Southern dining occasions among families and younger consumers in the same geographic footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store: Cracker Barrel is a national chain combining Southern comfort-food family dining with a retail store, and is publicly traded. It competes for the same family/casual dining occasions in the Southern cuisine category and operates a sizable catering business, though at much larger scale than This Is It!.
• Hardee's: Hardee's is a national fast-food chain (CKE Restaurants) serving burgers, breakfast, and Southern-influenced items like biscuits. As a broader QSR incumbent, it overlaps with This Is It! in the value-priced Southern food segment and competes for similar lunch and quick-meal occasions.

Direct peers

• Memphis BBQ Company: Memphis BBQ Company operates casual full-service BBQ restaurants serving Memphis-style smoked meats and Southern sides. It is comparable to This Is It! as a regional BBQ operator with dine-in, takeout, and catering channels and a similar family-friendly atmosphere.
• Dickey's Barbecue Pit: Dickey's Barbecue Pit is the largest BBQ franchise in the U.S., with hundreds of locations offering slow-smoked meats, sides, and family meals. It competes head-to-head with This Is It! in the dine-in/takeout BBQ segment and shares the Southern family-dining value proposition.
• Sonny's BBQ: Sonny's BBQ is a Florida-based, multi-state BBQ restaurant chain serving slow-smoked meats and Southern sides in a family-casual setting. It is a directly comparable peer to This Is It! across menu (BBQ and Southern comfort food), service model (full-service dine-in plus takeout), and customer demographic (families and groups).
• Mission BBQ: Mission BBQ is a fast-growing, multi-state BBQ chain specializing in smoked meats and American comfort sides with a patriotic theme. It is comparable to This Is It! in menu category, full-service family dining format, and emphasis on catering and group occasions.
• Famous Dave's: Famous Dave's of America is a publicly traded BBQ restaurant chain operating company-owned and franchised locations across the U.S. It is a direct competitor in the sit-down BBQ category with a comparable full-service menu, family dining experience, and catering offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thisisitbbq
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheOfficialThisIsIt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/this-is-it-bbq-and-seafood

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 This Is It!