Talking to pitmaster Bryan Furman and Owens & Co. founder Robert Owens is like listening in on a conversation between best friends. They’re teasing each other, laughing, and finishing each other’s sentences. They’ve been buds for more than a decade, having once bonded cooking for 2,400 people in three days. Now, they’re making turning their relationship to business. Bryan Furman is the “official pitmaster” at Owens & Co. Back from a nine-month residency in Oregon, he’s cooking the barbecue dishes he’s known for, along with Owens & Co. staples, at the Smyrna restaurant.
“I just want to f***ing cook,” Furman exclaims. “I’ve been in the industry. I’ve had restaurants. It’s a headache managing people and having all the responsibility.”
Furman is best known for B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue, which he originally opened in Savannah and then Riverside, Atlanta. Both locations closed due to fires. He briefly ran a barbecue counter inside BeltLine Kroger on Ponce, and had announced plans to open an eponymous barbecue spot in 2024 before abandoning the idea and heading across the country…