Green's Beans, Buns and BBQ has been in business for more than three years, first starting out as a food truck and transitioning to a full-service restaurant in 2023. (Courtesy of Tony Green)
Tony Green has dedicated more than a quarter century of his life to the trucking industry. Pictured here is the truck he drove while working for Arkansas-based Oakley Transport. (Courtesy of Tony Green)
For Tony Green, the plan for “retirement” was simple.
For more than a quarter century, Green has dedicated his life to the trucking industry, driving big trucks across America.
“My career as a truck driver started around 1998 or 1999,” he says, “I started working for a small trucking company (MDR) in Jonesboro, Arkansas.”
But just 17 months after he joined, the company was sold.
“So I started looking for a good company,” he says. “I tried a few companies.”
Unable to find a permanent place to call “home,” Green says he stuck with flat bedding for 13 years before finding his way into the refrigeration sector.
As the years went by, he felt he wanted to stay home a little longer to raise his children, so he finally decided to stay home and move back home. He got a job delivering chicken feed and drove for that company for about four years before moving to work part-time for a local company.
“My best memories (of truck driving) are the friends I've made all across the country, the stories I've heard and the friends who remain friends after all these years. We still keep in touch,” Green said.
During his 25 years as a truck driver, Green has worked for multiple trucking companies, towed a variety of trailer styles and visited all 48 contiguous states, Canada and Mexico. But in 2021, Green decided it was time to cut down on his driving time and spend more time at home with his family.
With time on his hands, it was time for him to start working on a plan.
While living in Pocahontas, Arkansas, Greene wanted to stay close by and do something to help others.
He found an easy way to do that: by feeding people.
And so Green's Beans, Buns and BBQ was born, starting out as a small food truck that quickly became a mobile restaurant, traveling throughout Northeast Arkansas and building a loyal following.
From that point on, the Greens set out to get their business off the ground. A neighbor gifted them a camper, and after investing a little time, money and effort, they equipped the trailer and were ready to hit the road.
“After a few months, we decided to move the store back home,” Green says. “At first, we didn't make much, but the more we went, the busier we got.”
Throughout that time, he continued to drive at least part-time.
“When COVID hit, the company tried to get me to drive more, but I was already making more with the trailer than I was driving for them,” Green said. “We decided it was time to split up and give the seat to another driver. That's when (the business) became full-time barbecue trailer.”
In just three years, the eatery has seen incredible growth — in fact, eight months after introducing the food truck, Green decided it had outgrown its current size and transitioned to a brick-and-mortar location.
June 1, 2024, marked the second anniversary of the restaurant's opening in “The Shed,” what Green calls his new independent business.
“For the first time in my life, I felt like I was taking a risk,” he said. “A guy here told me (when I moved the restaurant to Pocahontas) to 'do your best.'
Was it a provocation?
“I guess so, but I didn't really pay it much attention until he put it up for sale,” Green said.
The restaurant started with a modest menu, but business quickly took off and staff began accepting pre-orders for items like ribs.
Today, the eatery is a full-service barbecue joint.
“Right now we're open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” Green said. “It takes up all of my time now.”
But he doesn't mind the job.
“It's so gratifying to see our customers look up and smile,” he says, “because they know they're going to get some good old-fashioned country smoked meat.”
And it's amazing to think that it all started with a truck driver who wanted to feed his friend.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who lives in three states: Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as editor-in-chief and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
