Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Brown.
Hi Jay, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It was always my Granny’s dream to open a restaurant. Unfortunately she passed away in 1995. My dad always sold hotdogs at his community garage sale. I told him let’s try something different. Let’s try selling BBQ at the next one, so we did and that’s when Granny’s Southern Smokehouse was born. The recipes that we use were Granny’s. We used to operate and travel around Central FL in our food truck. After we sold our food truck we opened our first location on Deer Run. That location didn’t work out so much, so we packed up and moved into the heart of Downtown Saint Cloud. It’s a great location and we loved it here and we love our customers!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
In our first location we didn’t do so well. It was not in a high traffic area. There were days that our sales were horrible. I would be sitting there twiddling my thumbs. It was very hard.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Granny’s Southern Smokehouse is a popular BBQ restaurant located in Downtown St. Cloud. Our recipes are like no other and have been passed down from Granny. We specialize in BBQ, We are known for our Ribs. We ru.n out everyday no matter how much we make. We always advise customers to get here early. I am most proud of how far we come without any type of loans or investors. Right now we are at the top of our game. What set us apart from the others is that we are a small business and our food isn’t commercialized. We make our food as if Granny was back here cooking. We were voted Osceola County’s Best BBQ 2020 & 2021. Also, we were the runner up for the Orlando Foodie Awards.. I want the readers to know that it doesn’t get any more southern then Granny’s Southern Smokehouse. We offer catering for all occasions.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Our Downtown District partners really look out for all of the small business. They help with marketing, advertising, etc. there are to many mentors to name. I appreciate all of their help.
Contact Info:
- Email: grannyssouthernsmokehouse@gmail.com
- Website: www.grannyssouthernsmokehousefl.com
- Instagram: grannyssouthernsmokehouse
- Facebook: Facebook.com/grannysbbq
- Twitter: GSSmokehousefl
