Commercial Appeal posted “One & Only BBQ to open a new location in Southaven” featuring One & Only BBQ.
One & Only BBQ has announced plans to open its fourth location in spring 2019 in Southaven at 6575 Airways Blvd. It will be the company’s first location outside the city of Memphis.
“We are always looking for markets where there is not a lot of barbecue being served, ideally where there is a two-mile radius of no barbecue restaurants,” said Alan Katzen, who owns One & Only BBQ with his business partner, Joel Banes.
Katzen said the company had been looking for a spot in Southaven, as they felt that city was underserved in the barbecue category.
“Memphis BBQ Co. has pretty much had that area to themselves,” Katzen said. “I think there is room for more barbecue in this busy part of town.”
When looking for a location in Southaven, Katzen and Banes wanted to find an existing building.
“We built the Germantown Road location from scratch. That was a three-year process we knew we didn’t want to do again,” Katzen said.
When they learned about the location on Airways Boulevard, the partners knew they had the ideal spot for their next restaurant. Formerly a Newk’s Eatery, the more than 4,000-square-foot location is along a busy restaurant corridor between a Red Lobster and an Olive Garden. One & Only BBQ bought the building, and the partners plan to start renovations immediately.
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Southaven residents can expect the same menu, which includes award-winning baby back ribs, smoked turkey and famous Millie’s banana pudding.
Katzen and Banes took over One & Only BBQ in 2010, and it all started over a poker game.
“I was at poker night with my friends and we all took a poll to see which barbecue restaurant was our favorite. Both Joel and I had the same vote — One & Only,” Katzen said.
Not long after that conversation with friends, Katzen learned that the original owners of One & Only might be interested in selling, so he decided to take a gamble.
“We basically bought the assets — the name, recipes and lease,” he said of their purchase of the original location at 1779 Kirby Parkway. “We knew the barbecue was good, but we knew we had to create something more guest friendly.”
The duo was successful, doubling their business the first year they owned the restaurant.
In early 2011, they opened their second location at 567 Perkins Ext. A third location just off Germantown Parkway at 153 Timber Creek Drive opened in February 2017.
“The company is doing over 300 percent more than what the original restaurant was doing when we bought it,” Katzen said.