Reid family’s dedication reflected in extraordinary barbecue | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Steve Reid describes himself as the “quality control supervisor” at Reid’s Hometown BBQ in Booneville. Thanks to the dedication of his wife Jennifer, his daughters and the other women in his life, the barbecue restaurant the Reids opened in 2016 has thrived, even when he can’t be at the smokehouse.

Reid worked for the local police department, but he started smoking meat on the side because he couldn’t find many good barbecue joints nearby. People in Booneville encouraged him to sell his barbecue, so he and his family started setting it up at local festivals. The lines for this barbecue were usually quite long.

“At first, we were just thinking about opening a takeout restaurant a couple of days a week,” Reid says. “This community kept saying, ‘We need to open a restaurant. We need to open something. We don’t want to wait for a festival once a year.’ At this last festival (when we were working at the Savage Theater on Broadway downtown), the owner of that building approached me. She said, ‘When you’re going to open a restaurant, come see me.’ And I said I would. But at the time, I didn’t think we would ever do it.”

But he reconsidered his position.

“She had a kitchen in the back and a book club where she would make hors d’oeuvres and appetizers. She and I got talking, and after we talked, she made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. So on March 1, 2016, we rented this place with an option to buy. My wife made the table tops so they would all match. We had these pony columns that we had made for my daughter’s wedding, and we used them. We used everything we had, and we worked around the clock for two weeks. And on March 15, we were open.”

At first, Reid’s was only open on Fridays and Saturdays. Steve Reid continued to work for the police department. By May, working both jobs had become too much for him and he decided to retire and focus solely on the barbecue business.

The day I was there, Reid showed me all the people who worked and how they were all connected: his daughter Cassie Reid Massey who worked the kitchen, his daughter-in-law who bussed tables, his daughter’s sister-in-law and mother-in-law who also worked the front of house, another daughter’s brother-in-law who also worked the kitchen, and Reid’s niece. These days, Reid’s wife takes care of the grandchildren while their children work.

The demands of the business required Steve Reid to work 100-hour weeks, operate the smokehouse, and be available for every moment of daily operations. This constant pressure took its toll. In January 2023, Steve Reid underwent open-heart surgery, which left him incapacitated for weeks. While Steve recovered, his daughters took charge.

“My daughters said, ‘Dad, we’ll take care of this,’” Reid said. “When I was well enough to come back here and visit customers, they said, ‘We didn’t know you were gone.’”

Upon their return, the family hired a graphic designer to help them decorate the restaurant. The flame in the Reids’ new logo is pink to reflect their tenacity.

“It’s a flame that represents the fire that keeps it all alive,” he says. “It’s kept me going for a year. I always come in to see how they’re doing, check on the smoking process. Now, every time we do a special, it means Dad’s had a crazy idea. Sometimes I get shot down! I’ve given up control, basically, and I just come in to supervise things.”

The menu, for the most part, hasn’t changed, nor has the quality. Reid’s uses a combination of oak, hickory and pecans for its long-smoked meats. Beef brisket, pork, chicken breasts, turkey, all are perfect. Reid’s offers a house-made cheddar and red pepper sausage, smoked and served in large rounds, perfect for snacking, and an unusual pineapple and jalapeno sausage.

The sides are also all made in-house, from the bean salad and baked potato to the bacon macaroni and cheese.

And then there are the Karly fries, named after one of Steve’s daughters. Karly Reid-Woodhull came up with a combination of Cajun fries (seasoned with their own blend) topped with barbecue sauce and a tangy, retro-style white sauce. They were so good they were an instant addition to the menu, and you can order them as a side or opt for an appetizer version topped with smoked chicken.

As I worked on my barbecue project, tracing the history of the state’s smoked meats and the current list of restaurants, I heard time and again recommendations from people about what they considered to be the best barbecue in Arkansas. What amazed me was how people who make and sell barbecue referred to Reid’s—as one of the best places to dine in Arkansas. No controversy, just appreciation for a product created by a now-retired police officer and his dedicated family, serving Booneville and all points surrounding it, a landmark for barbecue in the Natural State.