We had the good fortune of connecting with James Delong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Our most important factor behind our success has been Determination! Drive! And Customer Satisfaction!
We have built our brand off of serving Delicious Bbq, Consistency, and keep our Customers Happy and coming back for more.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To build the Smalltown Bbq brand has been a challenge. We started as a small Bbq Competition team and over the years developed into a food truck and then into brick & mortar. This process has not at all been easy. I’ve learned so much over the years. For instance…. It’s not just about smoking meat and cooking delicious burgers, you got to pay taxes, keep employees happy, pay employees, pay workman’s comp, keep insurance up to date and so much more.

When you have a passion for serving awesome food, you learn everything else it takes to run a full restaurant!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When friends and family come to town of course we’re going to the mountains! We love exploring some of the back roads in Townsend and Wears Valley area. Cades Cove is always a great ride and Exploring the mountain roads makes us Happy!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I just need to give a huge shoutout to my wife Abigail. She has fully supported my dreams and goals from day one. From the beginning she put her life on hold so I could pursue my dreams.

Abigail has been the driver behind me. Many times I was ready to give up and go back to the regular 9-5 job with a consistent paycheck and she would not let me give up!

Lastly I definitely want to thank ALL of our customers! We have built some awesome relationships with them. Over the years we have watched their kids grow up through the restaurant and some have even become employees at some point. We have had the honor of catering their weddings/ baby showers/ birthdays and many more events with them.

Website: https://Smalltownbbq.com

Instagram: Smalll.townbbq

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smalltownbbq1?mibextid=LQQJ4d

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