Barbara and Eric Garvin have been married for 38 years. For decades, they have dreamt of opening their own restaurant. Before selling food to the public, they wanted to test their barbecue on some friends and family. But as Saturday’s tasting crept closer, their friends and family started to cancel.
So their daughter Erica Garvin turned to TikTok.
“Hey everyone, I am needing the support of the Tulsa community,” Erica said in her video posted Saturday morning. “My mom is launching a restaurant in Tulsa, she’s put her blood, sweat and tears into it for the last 10 years … I am not sure if anyone will show up, so if you’re in the Tulsa community and you have nothing to do around 2 p.m., we’re giving away tons of barbecue and free food.”
Despite rain coming down and slick roads, the video began gaining traction.
“We were at 1,000 (views). I’m like, ‘Oh, cool, maybe a couple people show up from that,’ and then we were at like, 5,000, then six, and they just kept growing and growing,” Erica told The Eagle. “Not gonna lie, I started getting nervous. I said, ‘Oh my gosh, OK, maybe this is really taking off.’”
As 2 p.m. approached, so did dozens of Tulsans — forming a line down the sidewalk at 9026 E. 31st St., the location of the couple’s yet-to-open barbecue joint in east Tulsa.
“I didn’t believe it, until we started opening up the curtain, and then we saw all the people were lined up,” Barbara said. “Then we looked down the street and that’s when we said, ‘Oh my God.’”
@ericagarvinrealtor #918 #tulsa #tulsaoklahoma #today ♬ original sound – Erica Garvin
Barbara, who is from Kingstree, South Carolina, said her love for cooking and inspiration to start a restaurant comes from her father, Willie Morgan Shaw. She and Eric, a Georgia native, want to bring their blend of southern food and hospitality to Tulsa.
“It was such a joy, because it went back to what we wanted to do,” Barbara said of Saturday’s turnout. “And that was to feed the less fortunate.”
Inside the lively restaurant, kids played with each other, adults chatted and some even held a prayer for the business, which is decorated with Christian symbolism and family photos.
“We got to hear people’s stories,” Erica said. “I got to talk to people, and they were just telling me that they were in need. They were able to come here and get a good meal. They loved that we were a mom-and-pop shop and that we were local. I got to hear about why they came out, whether it was social media, (or) whether they just saw the line driving by.”
From the meal’s kickoff into the early evening, the Garvins served hundreds of people and even had to turn some away. The family invited them to come back for their grand opening in January 2026.
“I think what the people are in store for is some good southern cuisine from the South, which I feel like is missing out here,” Erica said. “And I’m not talking about south Texas. I’m talking about south Georgia and South Carolina.”
Their menu Saturday featured smoked brisket, turkey legs, chicken, sweet potato pie, collard greens, cream potatoes and mac and cheese with turkey bits. One of the most popular menu items was the perloo, a southern country dish served with rice, chicken, smoked neck bone and turkey.
As of Tuesday, Erica’s video is approaching 100,000 views, 15,000 likes and more than 3,000 shares.
While all signs point to a successful launch for the Garvins, there is one thing left to decide: a name. They’re down to two choices: ”Smoky Mouth BBQ” or “Good to the Bone.”
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in North Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
