KaTom Outfits Southern Craft Kitchen in New Greeneville Location

As sales climbed and opportunities grew, the ownership group behind Southern Craft — an upscale barbecue concept started in Johnson City, Tennessee in 2017 — turned to well-trusted partner as it began the process of opening a third East Tennessee location.

When Southern Craft's Greeneville restaurant opened its doors in October of 2023, it did so with a brand new kitchen and full-service bar fully outfitted by KaTom Restaurant Supply – the second Southern Craft location equipped by KaTom.

Everything from smallwares to fryers to back-bar coolers was supplied by KaTom's numerous connections in the restaurant industry, with the restaurant supply company's local, personal touch jumpstarting another successful collaboration.

The journey from Stan's to Southern Craft

Stan's Bar-B-Q first opened in Greeneville in 1991 as a fast-casual operation serving authentic, slow-cooked meats and classic barbecue sides. It quickly grew, turning into a Greeneville staple that customers from all over East Tennessee traveld to for a pulled pork sandwich or a rack of ribs.

After 28 years serving the people of Greeneville, Stan Fortner put the building up for sale in 2019. The owner suffered from some health issues and after doing his best to remain open, Fortner eventually decided it was best for all parties to close his doors. The building remained vacant for two years before Martin Bagwell and his ownership group approached the former pitmaster in 2021.

An agreement was quickly reached and Bagwell and his partners set to work turning the building, which was designed for fast-casual service, into a facility more suited to the upscale, urban style Southern Craft established at its previous two locations.

"Both our previous concepts did really well, and my business partner Rafael (Zabala) and I would drive by here on the way to Knoxville. We saw this space for sale starting in 2019," Bagwell told KaTom. "Then we approached Stan in 2021. We knew he was looking to dump it. I think a few people had looked at it, but COVID had kept it from getting serious. There was just a lot of stuff going on.

"We agreed on a great deal. It was good for him to be rid of it, it was good for us. Then we started the project two years ago. It took two years to get this thing done, as you can see, it's a lot of work."

A Complete Overhaul

Someone familiar with Stan's might have to look twice as they walk into Southern Craft for the first time. After closing on the property, the ownership group quickly went to work on an extensive remodel. Walls were knocked down, outdoor areas were enclosed, even the stairs were moved from the back of the dining room to the front.

Perhaps the most drastic change was upstairs, where an outdoor seating area was brought into the rest of the dining room. What was once an open dining space full of tables was turned into a full-service bar serving beer from Great Oak Brewery – located inside the Johnson City Southern Craft location.

A remodel of that scale takes time, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic was still wreaking havoc on infrastructure as materials and items remained difficult to get. Those that were available were often sold at high costs.

"It was maddening," Bagwell said. "Just from a design perspective, you know you have the architect fees, setting up meetings with the architects, just getting all of those guys on board. Them going through the building, having to make sure the structure is sound and making sure the engineers are involved. They have to make sure, with us adding in this whole new level, there was just a lot going on and a lot they had to be sure of."

A Comfort Level with KaTom

Amongst the chaos, there was one element of familiarity that Bagwell and his partners could rely on. Southern Craft's relationship with KaTom began some years earlier when a salesman with a reputation built on experience in the restaurant industry reached out. After the original salesman left, Harrison Genseal picked up the account and helped further the relationship between the two businesses.

When Southern Craft expanded to Bristol, Va., in 2020, it turned to KaTom to help outfit the new kitchen. After a smooth experience, the decision to trust KaTom with handling the spec process and supplying a brand new kitchen was an easy one.

"KaTom outfitted all of Bristol, did the whole kitchen," Bagwell said. "We've basically just been dealing with Harrison for a while. Then we have a Mexican and Asian fusion restaurant where the kitchen was done by KaTom there, too. It was just easy for us to continue with KaTom with this location. We already had that relationship established."

KaTom was responsible for the entire kitchen, minus the smoke room and one walk-in that could be salvaged from the original layout. The company provided all the cooking equipment, prep equipment, and brand new walk-in units in the kitchen. It also supplied the new upstairs bar with back-bar coolers, ice bins, a draft system, and much more.

When such an extensive list of products is needed to complete a kitchen, KaTom's hundreds of longstanding vendor relationships takes center stage. KaTom provided options for each piece, ensuring the kitchen had everything it needed come opening day.

"All the products that you guys offer is a huge benefit," Bagwell said. "But just getting everything paid for and that kind of stuff is really quick and smooth. The process of paying online and that whole thing is just so easy."

A big part of comfort and trust is knowing somebody will be there when you need them. When Bagwell picked up the phone, Genseal was there to offer solutions to whatever challenges arose.

"Harrison is great, you know, he answers the phone every time I call," Bagwell said. "Just that kind of thing sets KaTom apart. The communication is always good. You know, pricing can be weird in the industry. So there's times where he has to go get quotes, and that can take a little longer than you want it to. But he's waiting on a quote to come, it's out of his hands.

"After doing this expansion, I have definitely, on paper, streamlined what we need to order. And now with all this working with Harrison, he knows exactly what we're looking for, too."

A Local Connection

Bagwell and his partners operate Southern Craft under the umbrella of RMM Hospitality, which runs a handful of businesses in the Tri-Cities. But even as the restaurants continue to grow, the company hasn't lost its local, small-town roots.

Southern Craft takes pride in its community involvement, working with area high schools through the Coalition For Kids, which helps to ensure children have a place to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Bagwell said the restaurant is constantly looking for ways to help better the community. When Fatz Cafe in Greeneville closed just a few weeks before Southern Craft was set to open, the barbecue joint sounded the alarm on social media, posting on Instagram that anyone who lost their job at Fatz had guaranteed employment at Southern Craft.

"We sent out a blanket message on Instagram and said, 'Hey, everybody who worked at Fatz is hired. You guys have a job tomorrow if you want it,'" Bagwell said. "We just wanted people to know that they don't have to be without work because of their circumstance, and of their 40 or so employees, I'd say 20 to 25 came over. It was a really good turnaround."

That passion for the local community is what drew Southern Craft to KaTom in the first place. Rooted in Kodak, Tenn., the restaurant supply company also has a reputation for working to better the community. When Bagwell and his partners were first approached by KaTom's sales team, the ability to support a local company factored in heavily.

"We are, at our foundation, a locally owned restaurant," Bagwell said. "Absolutely [KaTom being a local company] was a factor. We're an independent restaurant, so with that, I don't even like to eat at chain places. So the fact that KaTom was right down the road was an appealing part of this, for sure."

Southern Craft's ownership group is always looking for opportunities to expand, with a location on Watauga Lake in the far northeast corner of Tennessee set to reopen in 2025 after a fire destroyed its building in June. For right now, though, Bagwell is focused on ensuring the new Greeneville restaurant is running as efficiently as possible.

When the location opened in early October, business was heavy, but as the staff has continued to gain experience, a routine has been established and Southern Craft found its groove.

"The staff was getting trained in a hurry," Bagwell said. "It's kind of like the 10,000-hour rule. All these reps that they're getting quickly, they start getting better faster. They get that new period out of the way. Everybody is getting tons of reps, more reps for our kitchen staff, more reps for our servers, they've all gotten a lot better. The service has gotten a lot better in a short time frame. The whole process is just getting a lot smoother. We're just excited to watch it grow."