Market size & fit Target mid-sized restaurant groups with 51-200 employees that operate casual dining concepts similar to Hickory River Smokehouse, emphasizing hand-rubbed BBQ and smoke-infused offerings. Position as a partner for growth in the casual smokehouse segment, leveraging their $1M-$10M revenue range as a scalable but not enterprise-scale opportunity.

Sponsorship & events Capitalize on their active community and event sponsorships, such as supporting local sports teams and awards. Propose sponsorships, co-branded promotions, and event activations that align with local sports and college communities to drive foot traffic and brand awareness.

Digital engagement Leverage their tech stack and web presence to propose marketing automation, loyalty programs, and data analytics partnerships. Highlight opportunities to optimize guest acquisition and retention through analytics, simple integrations with existing platforms, and measurable ROI.

Operational efficiency Offer solutions that improve kitchen throughput and consistency for hand-rubbed BBQ and smokehouse menus, such as supply chain optimization, batch prep planning, or kitchen display systems. Emphasize cost savings and menu consistency across multiple locations in the 50–200 employee range.

Growth & partnerships Position as a scalable vendor for back-office and frontline support as they pursue growth, using a comparable revenue tier to peers like City Barbeque and Mission BBQ. Highlight potential for phased partnerships, pilot programs, and case studies from similarly sized chains to de-risk expansion.