Pappy's Smokehouse

What Pappy's Smokehouse does

Pappy's Smokehouse is a privately held, Memphis-style barbecue restaurant chain founded in 2008 in midtown St. Louis, Missouri by Mike Emerson and John Matthews after more than a decade of competitive barbecue experience. The company operates two Pappy's-branded dine-in locations (3106 Olive St in midtown St. Louis and 5246 N Service Rd in St. Peters, MO, opened in 2020/2021) and is the hub of a broader family of affiliated restaurants that includes Bogarts Smokehouse (Soulard, 2011) and Dalie's (Valley Park, 2015). Core products are dry-rubbed ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burnt ends, smoked chicken, and turkey, slow-smoked up to 24 hours over apple and cherry wood and served with four proprietary sauces; food is prepared fresh daily and never reheated.

The business operates across five distinct revenue streams: walk-in dine-in service (no reservations, first-come-first-served), full-service catering for events of 15 to 3,000 guests with 48-hour advance notice, the Rollin' Smoke food truck for private and community events, retail merchandise (sauces, rubs, and apparel) sold in-store and online nationwide, and national shipping of ribs, pulled pork, and pulled chicken via the Goldbelly marketplace, supplemented by Uber Eats delivery in the St. Louis metro. Pricing is unit-based across all channels, with full slab ribs at $29.99, catering from $2.75 to $18.75 per person, and sauces/rubs at $6.99 to $9.99. Limited-edition brand extensions include the 2023 'Mash & Ash' bourbon collaboration with Still 630 Distillery and a 2021 co-developed brisket-stuffed toasted ravioli with Anthonino's Taverna.

The company serves a diversified mix of local walk-in diners in the St. Louis metro, regional food tourists, corporate and wedding catering clients (Pappy's holds preferred-vendor status at 30+ Missouri wedding venues and was named Best in Weddings 2024 by The Knot), and national e-commerce customers via Goldbelly. Marketing is driven primarily by earned media and brand reputation, including Food Network's "Best Ribs in America," Southern Living's "Best BBQ in Missouri," Esquire's "100 Restaurants America Can't Afford to Lose," and TripSavvy's Editors' Choice 2018. The firm is privately held by its founding team with no disclosed institutional funding or parent company, and reports approximately 27 employees.

Name

Pappy's Smokehouse

Legal name

Pappy's Smokehouse

Website

https://pappyssmokehouse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pappy's Smokehouse is a privately held, Memphis-style BBQ restaurant chain in St. Louis, MO (founded 2008) that slow-smokes dry-rubbed ribs and meats over apple and cherry wood. It serves walk-in diners, catering clients, and nationwide Goldbelly customers across two Pappy's locations plus the Bogarts and Dalie's sister restaurants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Barbecue Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

akta.pro primary industry

BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)

Keywords

• Memphis-style barbecue
• Smoked ribs
• Pit-smoked meats
• BBQ catering services
• Casual dining restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Walk-in dine-in service at two locations. No reservations, first-come-first-served. Products sold until closing or until sellout.
2. Catering Services: Full-service catering for corporate events, weddings, rehearsal dinners, private parties, and boxed lunches. Minimum 15-person orders with 48-hour advance notice.
3. Food Truck (Rollin' Smoke): Mobile food truck serving private events, corporate luncheons, vending events, and community appearances.
4. Retail Merchandise: Sauces, rubs, and swag (t-shirts, hats) available for purchase in-store and online nationwide shipping.
5. National Shipping (Goldbelly): Ribs, pulled pork, and pulled chicken shipped anywhere in the Continental U.S. through Goldbelly marketplace.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pappy's Smokehouse is a Memphis-style barbecue restaurant group that slow-smokes dry-rubbed ribs, pulled pork, brisket, burnt ends, chicken, and turkey over apple and cherry wood for up to 24 hours, serving them with four signature house-made sauces. The company operates dine-in restaurants, a food truck, full-service catering, retail sauce and rub sales, and national shipping through Goldbelly. Its core deliverable is fresh, never-reheated pit-smoked barbecue for both consumer and event-catering customers.

Product overview

Pappy's Smokehouse is a single-location Memphis-style BBQ restaurant (with sister locations) that offers a unified in-restaurant dining, takeout, and catering experience. The core product is their smoked meats (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken) prepared using their signature dry-rub and low-and-slow smoking method over apple and cherry wood. The company operates as a family of restaurants including Pappy's Smokehouse (St. Louis, est. 2008), Bogarts Smokehouse (Soulard, est. 2011), and Dalie's Smokehouse (Valley Park, est. 2015). Supporting product lines include catering services, the Rollin' Smoke food truck, and retail products (BBQ sauces and rubs). A notable collaborative product is the Mash & Ash Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey made with Still 630 Distillery. Pappy's does not operate a software platform with modules, but rather offers complementary service offerings built around their core BBQ expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bogarts Smokehouse: Part of the Pappy's family of restaurants, located in historic Soulard, serving smoked tri-tip sirloin, pastrami, and apricot glazed ribs
• Dalie's
• Rollin' Smoke
• Mash & Ash

Products and services

• Pappy's Smokehouse Restaurant (Dine-in) Memphis-style barbecue restaurant in St. Louis, MO serving dry-rubbed ribs slow-smoked over apple and cherry wood, along with pulled pork, smoked brisket, burnt ends, chicken, turkey, and sides for dine-in and carry-out customers. Named Best Ribs in America by Food Network and Best BBQ in Missouri by Southern Living.
• Pappy's Smokehouse St. Peters (Dine-in) Second Pappy's-branded restaurant location in St. Peters, MO serving the full Memphis-style BBQ menu with dine-in, carry-out, and curbside pickup service.
• Full-Service Catering

Quantifiable outcome

• Named Best Ribs in America by Food Network
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Still 630 DistilleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to create 'Mash & Ash' Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a 15th Anniversary limited-edition product. Single oak barrel aged four years, filtered with charred applewood from Pappy's Smokehouse smokers. Sold for $70 at St. Louis location only.
• Bogarts SmokehouseminorOthersAffiliated restaurant in the Pappy's family. Opened in 2011 in historic Soulard neighborhood. Offers smoked tri-tip sirloin, pastrami, and apricot glazed ribs.
• Dalie'sminorOthersAffiliated restaurant opened in 2015 in West County (Valley Park, MO). Part of Pappy's family of restaurants with traditional favorites and daily specials.
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery partnership through Uber Eats for both St. Louis and St. Peters locations. Enables delivery to customers who prefer not to dine in or pick up.
• GoldbellycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline marketplace partnership for nationwide shipping. Customers can order Pappy's ribs, pulled pork, and pulled chicken for delivery anywhere in the Continental U.S.
• Preferred Wedding VenuesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred vendor relationships with over 30 wedding venues across Missouri including Haue Valley, The Olde Wicks Factory, The Larimore, Jefferson Underground, and many more.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arthur Bryant's: Historic Kansas City BBQ institution with national brand recognition. Comparable as an iconic regional BBQ brand with multi-generational reputation.
• 17th Street BBQ: Award-winning BBQ operation founded by pitmaster Mike Mills with multiple locations and a packaged sauce/rub retail line. Comparable on national accolades, multi-unit BBQ, and CPG extension strategy.
• Mission BBQ: National fast-casual BBQ chain with 100+ locations. Comparable as a scaled BBQ concept, though broader and more standardized than Pappy's artisanal positioning.
• Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que: Iconic Kansas City BBQ brand with national recognition and a sizable retail sauce business. Comparable on award-winning regional BBQ positioning, cult following, and CPG expansion.

Direct peers

• Salt + Smoke: St. Louis BBQ restaurant group serving smoked meats, brunch, and craft cocktails with multiple locations. Directly comparable on category, geography, and sit-down BBQ positioning.
• Sugarfire Smoke House: St. Louis-based BBQ concept competing in the same metro and casual-dining segment with a similar smokehouse menu and counter-service model. Directly comparable on location footprint, pricing band, and target customer.
• Central BBQ: Memphis-style BBQ restaurant group with multiple locations and catering. Directly comparable on Memphis-style pit-smoking technique, menu composition, and catering/event model.
• Memphis BBQ Co: Memphis-style smokehouse operator with dine-in and catering. Directly comparable on Memphis-style preparation, menu mix (ribs, pulled pork, brisket), and event catering services.
• Dalie's Smokehouse: Affiliated Valley Park (West County) BBQ concept in the Pappy's family since 2015. Comparable as a sister brand offering traditional BBQ plus daily specials in the same St. Louis metro.
• Bogarts Smokehouse: Affiliated Soulard restaurant in the Pappy's family since 2011. Comparable as a sister concept offering smoked tri-tip, pastrami, and apricot glazed ribs in the same market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/pappyssmokehouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pappy-s-smokehouse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Pappy's Smokehouse