Okie Dokies Smokehouse

01/24/2026

Hey y’all -we’ll be open for lunch today (Saturday) but closing by 3 so we can all get home and prepare for the winter weather ahead. So while you’re out and about today getting your milk and bread 😀 swing by and pick up a “Family Feast” or two to hold you over. Please stay safe and warm!

12/31/2025

Happy New Year y’all!!! We’re back on our regular schedule this week (Wednesday-Saturday 11-7). Come on by and get your collards and black eyed peas to start the year off right!

12/23/2025

Okie Dokies will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to celebrate with our families. Open Friday and Saturday 11-7. Merry Christmas everyone!
A little over a month ago we made a post about finally being ready to open. Since December 3rd, you’ve been showing up everyday just like you said you would (even when we’re not open). 😂 We have yet to put out our open sign or have time to officially celebrate in any way. Maybe after the new year….
It’s been both exciting and emotional getting to see so many friends, familiar faces and folks just wanting some good ole Okie Dokies. We’ve been so thankful and appreciative for everyone’s patience as we get back in the groove, listen to stories and play a small part of the healing of this community.
Merry Christmas from all of us at Okie Dokies Smokehouse. See you soon!

12/04/2025

And so it begins. Again. We are so thankful for everyone that stopped yesterday to show their support. We so appreciate it along with your patience at times as we get this train back on its track. 😀 that being said we really need some help. We need experienced full time kitchen staff. If that’s you please stop by and fill out an application. We pay competitive wages based on availability and experience. Please don’t call or write we simply are not able to take the time right now to respond to everyone, but if you come by we will make time to at least introduce ourselves and say hello. Thanks again Swannanoa Valley and beyond for your loyalty and support!!!!

11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving Okie Dokies fans and supporters-The time has finally arrived! Just this week we crossed the final hurdle (the ever so important Health Permit).
We are so thankful for everyone that has played a part in our recovery. We don’t know quite how to thank y’all, but we are going to do the absolute best we can.
Our first day back will be next Wednesday (12-3-25). Our winter hours will be Wednesday through Saturday 11-7 ish.
So if you (or someone you know) wants to be a part of rewriting Okie Dokies history, please come see us. We’ll be conducting open interviews this Friday and Saturday (11-28 and 11-29) from 10-4 each day. Please stop by, fill out an application and say hello. We’d love to meet you!
In the meantime, here’s a few teasers of some of our new merch and a little smoking practice session.

We can’t wait to see you next week!

11/08/2025

Here we are over 400 days later. It’s been quite a process rebuilding our home, our business and our lives since Helene came knocking…BUT we have been so blessed through this journey. We are grateful beyond words for every single person, couple, family and organization that has helped us through all of this.
Yesterday,we passed our final building inspection, the last of 14 different inspections. Only two more inspections to go-Fire Marshall and Health Department.
Please stand with us as we cross that finish line over the next couple weeks. We’ll keep you updated with some teasers of what’s been done over the last year, as well as some new menu items to go with all of our tried and true classics. We’ll also keep you posted on our official opening day. If all goes well, we hope to be back by Thanksgiving week- lunch and dinner just like the good ole days. The actual number of days of the week will depend on how the staffing process goes, so if you know anyone looking here in the valley, send them our way.
Thank you for all the love and encouragement…
We love you Swannanoa Valley and can’t wait to see you real soon!
Steve, Jody and the Okie Dokies crew (old and new)

12/15/2024

12-15-24 ODS update

Absolutely first and foremost, we want to thank EVERYONE who has helped us out in so many ways over the past couple of months. We are overwhelmed with gratitude. Whether physically helping, financially helping, checking in on us or simply keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, it has made a significant impact.
Things are progressing along but the reality hits us nearly everyday that it’s gonna take some time. Our target time to reopen is still by late spring/early summer 2025 if things go according to plan.
So here’s our current update:
After several weeks of clearing out and cleaning up the lower level of Okie Dokies, which includes the smokehouse, prep kitchen, walk-in cooler, storage, mechanical and office spaces, we received our building permit and have moved on to the rebuild process. Our entire lower level, including all electrical service panels and wiring had to be replaced. Our electrician is doing an amazing job and we now have (limited) power back on. We are currently waiting on the two HVAC units to be installed and then we’ll be able to move on with the rest of the rebuild process.
Our beloved smoker “Buella” had to be shipped back to the manufacturer in Texas for a full refurbishment. She should be back to us sometime in January.
In the meantime, we decided to go back to our roots and ordered a new custom “food trailer”instead of a truck (like we lost). After pricing them, a replacement truck would have cost at least four to five times as much as the trailer. This seemed to be the most financially sensible thing for us to do right now with all the rebuilding and repairs we have to do to the building. Once the new trailer arrives, we will need to finish equipping it and then of course approved by the health department. Once that’s complete, we can start pouring back into our community the way so many of you have been pouring into us.
We will always be incredibly grateful for each and every one of you that gave to us either through “Go Fund Me” or personal contributions.
There are still a lot of hurdles to overcome, but once we get past these and pass all of our inspections, we are determined to come back better and stronger than ever.
We’ll keep you posted and as always but now more than ever, thank que for your suppork!!
Steve, Jody, and crew

10/19/2024

ODS update 10-18-24: The past three weeks have been the most devastating, exhausting, yet gratifying weeks we have ever experienced. We have been overwhelmed by your outpouring of support. We are so grateful for everyone who has supported us privately, through Go Fund Me or the multitude of people both locally and from out of state that have come in to lend a hand. Whether by running heavy equipment or just rolling up sleeves and getting hands (very) dirty or sending love, supplies or financial support from afar, everything has mattered.
Together, we’ve made incredible progress clearing debris and cleaning inside and out of Okie Dokies. Seems like everyday, the right person shows up with either the right equipment, right tools, right knowledge or right bit of encouragement just when we need it most. It’s simply been amazing. We are so, so appreciative and will probably never be able to thank you enough.
We (Swannanoa) still have a long road ahead of us. Our hearts still break as we hear stories and see the devastation at every corner daily. None of us really know for sure what things will look like over the months ahead, but we do know we will continue to step out in faith everyday as we keep moving forward to rebuild. In the meantime, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we seek to acquire a new food truck/trailer in order to meet the more immediate needs of our staff and community. We will keep you posted as things develop over the next few weeks.
More than ever, but as always, thank que for your suppork!

10/09/2024

Artist unknown. Everyday seems to be more and more of a whirlwind but tonight our hearts are with our families, friends and everyone else in Florida.

10/03/2024

After only a couple of hours, we’ve already had an outpouring of offers to donate. We really didn’t want to go the “Go Fund Me” direction because there is such a need right now we didn’t want to be a part of the saturation. However, it does seem to be a good way to go so that everyone that wants to help has the ability. We will still seek a food truck and all go fund me proceeds will go directly to staff and supplies. If someone doesn’t come through with a truck, then we will use the proceeds to go towards the acquisition of a truck. Thank que to everyone who is already so eager to help out!
A food truck replacement costs so much more than $25,000, but we don’t want to discourage anyone from giving.
We are so grateful for the many, many messages we are still receiving.

https://gofund.me/f18c4467

We’ve already had an outpouring of offers to donate. We really didn’t wa… Jody Dunning needs your support for Help Okie Dokies Smokehouse Get a Food Truck

10/03/2024

So many people have been asking us how they can help. After nearly a week of sleepless nights and much consideration, here’s how you can help Okie Dokies Smokehouse and our community. Please share this- you know people who know people and help can come from anywhere.

The bottom line is we need a food truck. Ours was lost in the flood waters and it will take time for insurance to do its thing. It is going to take months, if not years to get Swannanoa’s infrastructure back on track. In the meantime, we want to be able to help and serve our staff and community.

For nearly 18 years, we’ve been there for the community. When anyone asked for something, we did our best to help in some capacity. The other day someone asked if we could donate some supplies to another business that was cooking food for the community. I said “I’m sorry but we’ve lost everything “. It breaks my heart to think we can’t be there for them right now like we used to.
I also thought about our pit master, Jose, who has been with us since nearly the beginning of Okie Dokies. When the water level dropped low enough to make our way to the restaurant Friday afternoon, Jośe was there waiting. Ready to get to work. The thing you need to know is that Jose’s home was completely swept away just hours before.
My wife and I want to help. Jose wants to help. Our families and friends want to help. There’s a strong need for good hot meals right here right now and probably over the coming months because much of the community simply can’t do it for themselves due to the lack power, water and access. Between Jose and myself we have over 40 years of experience cooking and serving bbq. We think we’re pretty good at it and we all want to help in a very relevant way.

We can’t tell you how many people have reached out wanting to help. We appreciate every single offer. We know it’s a big ask but it’s something we can do with some help from the right person. We lost nearly everything we need to cook and store supplies, so we would need a self contained food truck with a proper smoker, refrigeration, and on board generator. If there’s any individual or organization out there that can help in any way, please reach out to us.
As always, thank que for your suppork and the words of encouragement, not just now but over the years.
Steve, Jody and crew
https://gofund.me/f18c4467

09/30/2024

As you probably know, Swannanoa was one of the hardest hit areas by Hurricane Helene. Okie Dokies was obviously caught up in that. Please keep us and our staff in your thoughts and prayers as we rebuild as a community over the next several months and years. As always, thank que and we’ll be back as soon as we can.