I am Lonnie Smith Jr. The Head Cook and Pit Master for the Championship BBQ team “BUBBA GRILLS”. My team consist of my wife Shannon, our son Lee, my nephews, Jonathan and Ethan Roberson, my sister Tina and brother in law Joe Havard. To date we have competed in over 120 BBQ contest in 11 different states.
We have won over 400 BBQ awards including 28 Grand Championships and 17 Reserve Championships. Our highlights include. The 2011 Memphis in May RIB world championship, The 2010 Memphis BBQ Network National Championships, The Virginia State Championship in 2010 and 2012, the Georgia State Championship in 2007, 2008, and 2009,the Florida State Championships in 2013 and we have also been the Georgia BBQ Association Team of the Year twice 2009, and 2013.
We started cooking competitively in 2004 and have been blessed enough to cook for two presidents (Jimmy Carter, Bush Daddy) and several Governors. Our Team has also been featured in The BBC America show (Jamie’s American Road Trip Episode 5) with chef Jamie Oliver and the upcoming Travel channel show “The grill of Victory”.
A large part of our success can be attributed to the Smokers that we build (bubbagrills.net). We build some of the most efficient reverse flow smokers on the market and have shipped those smokers all over the world. We are excited to be coming to Cincinnati and part of the River Grill before the Big Chill. So please come by and say hi, because we can’t wait to light the fire as our Southern BBQ invades the North.
Lonnie Smith Jr.
