About Us

Smoky Mountain BBQ Company serves freshly smoked meats prepared daily by owner, David Handford, aka “BBQ Dave” with 16+ years of experience smoking delicious BBQ in Cherokee County, NC. BBQ Dave was born and raised in Murphy. 

Our business was founded in 2021 when several catering companies contacted Dave requesting that he start his own BBQ catering gig. This happened after Dave was out of commission for a year after recovering from surgeries needed as a result of a motorcycle accident that occurred in 2020. Dave and his wife agreed to take the leap and purchased the BBQ Concession trailer to set out on the road for land sales and other catering events. 

Soon, word got out in Western NC that BBQ Dave was back in the BBQ game and locals were adamant about Dave setting up in down weekdays and at local events which eventually blossomed into the customer base to support a brick-and-mortar restaurant due to popularly. 

We opened our Downtown Murphy Restaurant Location in the Historic Mill Building on June 28th, 2022, which vastly expanded our menu. Due to inflation and personal choices, the Handford family decided to close the doors of the brick-and-mortar location at 104 Tennessee Street November of 2023.

The Handford family took a hiatus from the public BBQ world but have decided to return as of Fall 2024 with the BBQ concession trailer for public events and book private catering events. Our love for smoking BBQ is undeniable and we are tired of being hounded daily by our two kids and friends about getting back into it!