Provided by the Reaves family
Audio By Carbonatix
Brothers Brent and Juan Reaves, owners of Smokey John’s, are one improv class away from running a comedy club. Sometimes they’ll get going on a bit, and play off each other like they’re arguing about who’s on frist. After a recent interview, I found myself just sitting in my car in front of their restaurant, the sunshield still in place, my head down getting the last of the laughs out before trying to drive home. I thought the restaurant business was supposed to be exhausting. Tiresome. Restaurant owners are supposed to be grumpy at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday. So then why did my face hurt for laughing so much?
After 50 years, it’s not that the brothers are putting the business on autopilot, being silly, letting the restaurant run itself. Quite the opposite.
Photo by Lauren Drewes Daniels
Smokey John’s BBQ has a lot going on these days. The brothers who took over the business from their father, “Smokey” John Reaves, in 2013 have a lot of irons in the pit: they continue their legacy of 50 years at the State Fair of Texas in about a month, and they need to hire enough staff to cover six stands for 24 days straight. They have a retail business stocking shelves at H-E-B with banana pudding, spices and sauce (plus a new sweet potato pie they’re working on). The duo also has a social media feed to cater to (it’s hilarious). Oh, and they actually cater as well. Then there’s the day-in, day-out of running a restaurant. And recently they bought a new smoker and revamped their brisket program, which they’re still fine-tuning.
But this week, they’re pausing the daily grind to focus on a milestone: the 50th anniversary of Smokey John’s.
We have several articles teed up this week, because stuffing a half-century of barbecue history into one article felt too heavy for this August heat. So, today we’re diving into the birthday block party and free brisket. Check back tomorrow for an article with details on the new smoker and the process for trimming the brisket. Then, after that, we chat about the business of running a business at the State Fair of Texas.
How they got here: a spirit of giving
First, a bit of history. Back in the ’70s, Smokey made a name for himself tending to his hickory-smoked hams and turkeys on the weekend in his backyard. Despite a steady career in banking, in 1976, he and his cousin Douglas “Rent” Spraglin and wife Gloria opened Smokey John’s at Lemmon and Mockingbird.
The restaurant and food became an instant hit, attracting a devoted following — including a few Dallas Cowboys, who became more than just regulars; they were investors. Drew Pearson and Harvey Martin invested in the burgeoning barbecue business. Together, the partners expanded with new restaurants across the state.
But as business grew, the focus shifted away from a mom-and-pop barbecue restaurant.
Smokey discussed it in a 2019 interview with Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly (Smokey passed away later that year). “Each new opening put more emphasis on the nightclub aspect of the business than the barbecue,” wrote Vaughn. “The trio was raking in cash, but John Reaves’s religious convictions began to make him uneasy with the lifestyle he’d created for himself.”
Those convictions are what eventually led him back to his roots. Smokey became uncomfortable with the scene at the clubs. A turning point came; he wanted out of the liquor business. Almost overnight, the party ended. Smokey started a weekly Bible study in what used to be a bar. Not all the changes came easy. By 1984, he filed for bankruptcy protection, and only the original location remained.
“He totally went through a life-changing experience,” recalls Brent of his father’s pivot away from the clubs.
When asked what the biggest lesson they received from their dad was, Brent and Juan don’t point to pitmaster techniques or business grit. They both answer that it was his giving spirit.
“You can’t out-give God,” Brent says, with Juan echoing the sentiment.
It’s a practice both sons put in their everyday business.
“What we’ve also learned is we’ve been around 50 years, but there are people in Dallas who are here today that have never been here before,” says Juan. “And so we’re going to give them our best in terms of service, in terms of quality of the product and especially how we treat them as they come through the door.”
This spirit clearly drives their everyday approach to business and is also behind their 50th-anniversary block party this coming Saturday, which highlights other Black-owned businesses.
“He [Smokey] was very generous, and he always offered his help, his money, his time to different people,” Brent says. “And again, that’s what Juan was saying: us creating an opportunity, highlighting some of these other Black businesses. Some of them get great publicity, but some don’t. And this is our opportunity to give back as well.”
Block party: Saturday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Usually each August, Smokey John’s hosts a customer appreciation week to commemorate its triumphs throughout its history.
“And then this year,” says Juan, “because it’s our 50th customer appreciation week, we’ll culminate with a big block party celebrating our customers, our 50 years, our dad, and just kind of his legacy. We’re taking over the parking lot.”
Since it’s Black Business Month, they’ve also invited some friends, including Cookie Society, Mr. Sugar Rush, Mama Moore’s Popcorn, and a former team member who now runs her own candle business. Bishop Dunn High School marching band and cheerleaders will be there to start things off.
The event, which will take place in the parking lot in front of the restaurant, is free and runs Saturday, Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
But the best part might be that from Monday through Saturday this week, the first 50 people in line at the restaurant will get a free brisket sandwich.
Check back this week for more on how the brothers have updated the beef program. If you haven’t been to the restaurant in a while, it’s a great time to check back in.
