Edley's Bar-B-Que
Edley's Bar-B-Que is a privately held, family-owned Nashville-style barbecue restaurant chain operating 11 locations across Tennessee and Illinois, serving scratch-made smoked meats, sides, and full bar service to consumer, corporate catering, and private event customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersNashville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Edley's Bar-B-Que does
Edley's Bar-B-Que operates a privately held, family-owned chain of 11 full-service casual barbecue restaurants founded in 2011 by Will and Catharine Newman in Nashville, Tennessee, under the legal entity Edley's Restaurant Group, LLC. The restaurants serve smoked meats (brisket, pork, ribs, chicken, turkey) prepared low and slow over Southern white oak, scratch-made sides, fried items, full bar service with craft beer and signature cocktails (notably the Bushwacker), and a proprietary Nashville Style BBQ line built around cayenne dry rub and habanero pepper sauce. Menu, hours, and location information are accessible through a Squarespace-built website with online ordering, a dedicated Edley's BBQ mobile app on iOS and Android, and listings on all four major third-party delivery platforms (Postmates, DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats).
The company monetizes through four revenue streams: dine-in and takeout restaurant sales across 11 owned locations in the Nashville metro (7), Chattanooga (1), Gallatin (1), and the St. Louis metro via Illinois (2); corporate and social catering (corporate events, weddings, tailgates, private parties) ordered through a dedicated catering site; direct-to-consumer merchandise (signature sauces, dry rubs, apparel, hats, accessories) through edleysbbq.com/shop; and digital and physical gift cards. Customer segmentation spans individual consumers and families (primary), corporate clients (primary), and wedding/private event hosts (secondary). The Smoker's Club loyalty program, operated through email/SMS and the mobile app, runs three membership tiers (Insider, The Smoker, Chain Smoker) tied to qualifying spend.
Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through owned physical retail and digital channels, with a single disclosed promotional partnership with Postmates positioning Edley's as the official Tennessee Titans gameday delivery partner. The company has no disclosed external institutional investors, no public financial reporting, and no AI/ML, API, or platform technology footprint beyond standard restaurant e-commerce. Brand equity is supported by six Nashville Scene Best Bar-B-Que reader's poll wins (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023) and earned media features in Southern Living, USA Today, Garden & Gun, and CBS This Morning.
Edley's Bar-B-Que firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Edley's Bar-B-Que
- Legal name
- Edley's Restaurant Group, LLC
- Website
- https://edleysbbq.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Edley's Bar-B-Que is a privately held, family-owned Nashville-style barbecue restaurant chain operating 11 locations across Tennessee and Illinois, serving scratch-made smoked meats, sides, and full bar service to consumer, corporate catering, and private event customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Edley's Bar-B-Que industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Dining Restaurants
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)
Keywords
Where Edley's Bar-B-Que is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nashville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices12 records
Markets served
Edley's Bar-B-Que business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Dine-in and Takeout Restaurant Sales: Core revenue from food and beverage sales across 11 restaurant locations including smoked meats, Nashville Style items, fried foods, sides, desserts, and full bar with craft beers and signature cocktails.
- Catering Services: Corporate events, weddings, tailgates, and private event catering. Company offers delivery, pickup, and full-service options with bar packages.
- Merchandise Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of sauces, rubs, apparel, hats, and accessories through online shop and in-restaurant.
- Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards sold through their gift card platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | BBQ Sauce - 16 oz bottle |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | BBQ Rubs (Hot Chicken, Rib, Bar-B-Que) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Custom Sauces and Rubs Pack |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | T-Shirts |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hats/Caps |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bandanna |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Hourly Employee Pay |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Edley's Bar-B-Que product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Edley's Bar-B-Que operates family-owned, Nashville-style barbecue restaurants serving slow-smoked meats (brisket, pork, chicken, ribs, turkey), made-from-scratch sides, fried items, desserts, and a full bar with craft beers and signature cocktails such as the Bushwacker. In addition to dine-in and takeout, the company provides full-service catering for corporate events, weddings, and private parties, online ordering via website and mobile app, the Smoker's Club loyalty program, and a retail line of sauces, rubs, and branded merchandise.
Product overview
Edley's Bar-B-Que is a family-owned and operated barbecue restaurant chain founded in 2011, operating multiple restaurant locations in Tennessee and Illinois. The company offers a unified product portfolio centered on its core restaurant operations, complemented by a mobile ordering app integrated with a loyalty rewards program (Smoker's Club), catering services for events of all sizes, and a direct-to-consumer retail line featuring signature sauces, dry rubs, and branded merchandise. The restaurant menu features smoked meats (brisket, pork, chicken, turkey, ribs), Nashville-style offerings, fried items, made-from-scratch sides, and desserts, with items also available for online ordering, catering, and retail purchase.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Smoker's Club Rewards Program: The company's loyalty/rewards program with membership tiers (Insider, The Smokers, Chain Smokers) offering various benefits to members.
Products and services
- Edley's Bar-B-Que Restaurant Dining Family-owned Nashville-style barbecue restaurant service across 11 locations in Tennessee and Illinois, offering smoked meats, scratch-made sides, fried items, desserts, and a full bar with craft beer and signature cocktails for dine-in, takeout, and delivery consumers.
- Edley's Bar-B-Que Catering Services Full-service catering for corporate events, weddings, rehearsal dinners, tailgates, and private parties, providing pickup, delivery, and on-site serving options with optional bar packages to event hosts across the company's Tennessee and Illinois markets.
- Edley's BBQ Mobile App Native iOS and Android mobile application for placing Edley's Bar-B-Que online orders, enrolling in the Smoker's Club loyalty program, viewing specials, and participating in giveaways, available to consumers in the company's restaurant markets.
- Edley's Bar-B-Que Sauce Edley's signature 16 oz bottled barbecue sauce balancing heat, sweet, and tangy flavors, recommended for pork, brisket, turkey, and chicken, sold direct-to-consumer online and at restaurants.
- Edley's Bar-B-Que Rub Edley's signature barbecue dry rub seasoning packaged for retail sale and home grilling applications.
- Edley's Rib Rub Specialty dry rub seasoning formulated for ribs, packaged for retail and home grilling.
- Edley's Hot Chicken Rub Dry rub seasoning inspired by Nashville hot chicken featuring cayenne and spices, sold as a retail grilling product.
- Custom Edley's Sauces and Rubs Pack Customizable bundle pack letting customers select their preferred combination of Edley's signature sauces and rubs for grilling, sold direct-to-consumer.
- Edley's Bar-B-Que Merchandise Branded Edley's Bar-B-Que merchandise including t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, trucker caps, bandanas, and accessories, sold direct-to-consumer online and in restaurants.
Quantifiable outcome
- Best Bar-B-Que award winner for 6 years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023) in Nashville Scene Reader's Poll
Companies that use Edley's Bar-B-Que
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Edley's Bar-B-Que technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Edley's Bar-B-Que partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PostmatesminorPostmates partnership where Edley's BBQ is featured as Tennessee Titans official mobile ordering partner for gameday deals throughout the season. Edley's is available for delivery through Postmates platform.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Edley's Bar-B-Que competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- 12 Bones BBQ: Asheville, NC-based craft BBQ restaurant known for smoked meats and scratch sides. Comparable Southern craft BBQ concept with strong local brand and similar dine-in/catering structure.
- Central BBQ (Memphis): Memphis-based award-winning BBQ restaurant with multiple locations and national media recognition. Comparable heritage-driven craft BBQ concept competing in the Southern regional BBQ category.
- Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q: Legendary Alabama BBQ institution (founded 1925) with multiple restaurant locations and a championship-winning competition reputation. Comparable heritage-positioned Southern BBQ competitor with similar scratch-made, white-tablecloth-adjacent offering.
- Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint: Nashville-based whole-hog BBQ restaurant group with multiple locations and a similar family-owned, heritage-positioned concept. Direct regional competitor in the same Nashville BBQ market as Edley's.
- Peg Leg Porker: Casual Nashville BBQ restaurant owned by chef Carey Bringle, focused on dry-rub ribs and competition-style BBQ. Comparable single-region BBQ concept competing for the same Nashville customer base.
- Memphis BBQ Co. Multi-unit Memphis-style BBQ restaurant group with locations across the Mid-South. Direct competitor in the regional Southern BBQ category with similar smokehouse menu and catering offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Shane's Rib Shack: Atlanta-based fast-casual BBQ franchise with locations across the Southeast. Comparable counter-service BBQ concept competing in the same casual Southern BBQ space.
- Sonny's BBQ: Florida-based BBQ chain with 90+ company-owned and franchised locations across the Southeast. Established regional BBQ incumbent with similar dine-in, catering, and to-go offerings.
- Mission BBQ: National fast-casual BBQ chain with 140+ locations across 20+ states founded by military veterans. Larger scale incumbent serving a similar BBQ-with-patriotic-positioning customer but operating as a multi-state franchise model.
- Dickey's Barbecue Pit: Largest BBQ franchise in the US with 500+ locations, founded in 1941. National incumbent offering slow-smoked Texas-style BBQ via franchise model — comparable end-product but very different ownership structure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Edley's Bar-B-Que social profiles
Digital presenceEdley's Bar-B-Que financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Edley's Bar-B-Que leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Edley's Bar-B-Que funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Edley's Bar-B-Que M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Edley's Bar-B-Que
What does Edley's Bar-B-Que do?
Edley's Bar-B-Que operates family-owned, Nashville-style barbecue restaurants serving slow-smoked meats (brisket, pork, chicken, ribs, turkey), made-from-scratch sides, fried items, desserts, and a full bar with craft beers and signature cocktails such as the Bushwacker. In addition to dine-in and takeout, the company provides full-service catering for corporate events, weddings, and private parties, online ordering via website and mobile app, the Smoker's Club loyalty program, and a retail line of sauces, rubs, and branded merchandise.
Is Edley's Bar-B-Que a public or private company?
Edley's Bar-B-Que is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Edley's Bar-B-Que founded?
Edley's Bar-B-Que was founded in 2011. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Edley's Bar-B-Que based?
Edley's Bar-B-Que is headquartered in Nashville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Edley's Bar-B-Que make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Dine-in and Takeout Restaurant Sales are the primary driver. The others are catering Services, merchandise Sales and gift Cards.
Who are Edley's Bar-B-Que's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are 12 Bones BBQ, Central BBQ (Memphis), Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint, Peg Leg Porker and Memphis BBQ Co.. Broad incumbents are Shane's Rib Shack, Sonny's BBQ, Mission BBQ and Dickey's Barbecue Pit.
Does Edley's Bar-B-Que have an API?
No public API is recorded for Edley's Bar-B-Que.
What industry is Edley's Bar-B-Que in?
Edley's Bar-B-Que's product category is Casual Dining Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFABAH, BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5812.