Our Story
Stonewall’s began as a family-owned business when it first opened in 1995. Since then the family has grown, and so has the business. But one thing is for sure...our commitment to serving great BBQ to great people remains just as strong as ever. Our family has a passion for quality service and delicious food.
Although Stonewall’s has been in existence since Tony and Angie Smith opened it in 1995, the Smith family has 72 years of combined experience serving up some of the best food in the South. Tony’s dad, Jerry, has over 40 years of experience in foodservice. Having worked in the past with Colonel Harlan Sanders (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and Roy Rogers (Roy Roger’s Roast Beef), he was previously the owner of the former Jerry’s Fried Chicken in Hattiesburg. Today, he continues working at the original Stonewall’s in Picayune. In fact, it was Jerry who developed the special award-winning barbeque sauce still used at Stonewall’s today.
Influenced by his father, Tony has been working in the foodservice industry since he was a child, for 30 years or so. Tony loves working with his father and has learned from him that working hard, treating people well, and serving a great product will bring success.
The father/son duo, along with other members of the family, start each day at the Picayune restaurant by cranking up the smoker around 7 a.m. Then they begin making their delicious iced tea and many of the menu items from scratch, and they continue cooking throughout the day.
The Smith family is devout in their spiritual faith and incorporates many of the same core values into their everyday business practices. Tony often expresses that the decision to go into the restaurant business was as much a spiritual calling as a practical decision. He believes that one of the most important and unique aspects of the restaurant is its commitment to the people who interact with it on a daily basis, including its employees, its customers, its vendors, and other franchise owners. Tony’s passion for serving others can be directly witnessed by observing his dedication to his family.
The Smiths are a close-knit family who enjoy being around each other. With a love of the water and being in the outdoors, they like to get away to the beach or the mountains when they are not working at the restaurant. The limited hours of operation at the Picayune location are due to Tony’s commitment to keeping focus on his family.
Because the Smiths treat their customers with the same respect and warmth that they treat each other, Stonewall’s Barbeque has earned a reputation from the community of having a high level of quality service. And Tony considers the Stonewall’s franchises to be part of the family as well. With new franchises opening throughout the country, as the Smiths’ business grows, so does their family!
Stonewall's BBQ Braselton
6072 Highway 53
Braselton, GA, 30517
HISTORY
The history of Stonewall’s starts in a small town in the Deep South in 1995, when Tony and Angie Smith opened the first Stonewall’s restaurant with a friend on Highway 53 South just outside Poplarville, Mississippi. The original restaurant was established in an old barn that dated back to the 1850s. The barn had come to Poplarville from the foothills of the Smoky Mountains near Knoxville, Tennessee. Cannonballs from a Civil War battle have been found lodged in trees surrounding the barn in its original location near the Tennessee River. And Stonewall’s got its name from a Civil War Confederate general, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, better known as “Stonewall.”
Part of an old homestead with a working dairy, the barn had to be moved due to a highway widening project. It was reconstructed in Pearl River County exactly as it had once stood in Davy Crockett’s home state. The Smiths fell in love with the atmosphere that the hand-hewn chestnut, hickory, and cedar logs created and felt that it would be the perfect site to begin serving their finger-licking barbeque to the public.
In 2000, the old barn was sold, and the restaurant was located to Picayune, Mississippi, on one of the best corners in the heart of the quaint downtown area, where it still exists today. In 2007, the first franchise location opened in Oak Grove just outside of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and because of the restaurant’s popularity and reputation for delicious food at an affordable price, additional locations have continued to spread quickly throughout the South.
Testimonials
"Best Bar-B-Que around!! Warning: the potatoes are dangerously good and thebread pudding is addictive!" — Tracy Yelverton Crowe
"Wings are delicious! Bread pudding was amazing! Can't wait to go back!" — Carla Coley Lee
"Great food. The brisket was perfect. I am even taking the wife some of their bread pudding home to her. She can't wait for it." — Donald Chenault
"Best BBQ around!! Great atmosphere, food, and people!! You have to try the bread pudding!!!" — Chad Bingham