By Roxanne Brown
Big Ridge Outdoor Living: Custom Outdoor Kitchens & Spaces
Sponsored Content
Big Ridge Outdoor Living Brings Custom Outdoor Spaces to Backyards Nationwide
What started with one family’s search for a better way to build an outdoor kitchen has grown into a national manufacturing company helping homeowners create outdoor spaces designed for gathering, entertaining and making memories.
Founded seven years ago by Garrad and Denise Smith, Big Ridge Outdoor Living has evolved from a small family operation in Sweetwater, Tennessee, into a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in nearby Athens, shipping custom outdoor living products across the country, including right here in Central Florida.
For Garrad, the idea came from a project much closer to home.
“When I went to build my first outdoor kitchen, there was really nothing on the market as far as a good system that would allow somebody without too much building experience to do it,” he says. “That led me to researching on the internet and I ended up building my first one by trial and error.”
“From there, it evolved into me seeing a gap in the market for it and here we are.”
The company initially manufactured ready-to-finish outdoor kitchen frames, allowing homeowners or contractors to add their own countertops and exterior finishes. As demand grew, customers began asking for completed kitchens, prompting the company to expand into fully finished, custom-built products.
Today, Big Ridge Outdoor Living designs and manufactures outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, fire pits and TV lift cabinets, all designed to go together rather than looking like a collection of mismatched outdoor pieces.
“One of the core offerings for our company is that even though we started with outdoor kitchens, we manufacture a whole ecosystem of products,” Garrad says. “Everything is very high quality, with the same type of luxurious finishes across all our products.”
The business has remained a family affair from the beginning.
Garrad credits Denise with managing the office, sales and day-to-day operations while other family members, including his father, brother, sister-in-law, sons and nephew, have all worked for the company over the years. What began in an approximately 1,800-square-foot building eventually expanded to 6,000 square feet before the move to its current facility.
A Navy veteran who served during Desert Storm, Garrad says that one of the company’s largest period of growth came during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Denise says that’s when more families began investing in their homes and outdoor living spaces.
“For us, COVID was a boom,” she says.
While manufacturing challenges and supply shortages created obstacles, demand continued to climb as homeowners looked for ways to spend more time at home.
Beyond the products themselves, the Smiths say their goal has always been to encourage families to reconnect.
That philosophy remains at the heart of the company today.
According to Big Ridge Outdoor Living, its mission is to create outdoor spaces that become natural gathering places where families and friends can slow down, connect and build lasting memories, while offering premium craftsmanship without the complexity of a traditional custom build.
Looking ahead, the Smiths plan to continue expanding the company’s outdoor living offerings while staying true to the family values that inspired the business from the beginning.
“It’s our goal to create spaces that bring families together to relax, reconnect and make lasting memories,” Garrad says.
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Originally from Nogales, Arizona, Roxanne worked in the customer service industry while practicing freelance writing for years. She came on board with Akers Media in July 2020 as a full-time staff writer for Lake & Sumter Style Magazine and was promoted to Managing Editor in October 2023—her dream job come true. Prior to that and after just having moved to Florida in 1999, Roxanne had re-directed her prior career path to focus more on journalism and went on to become a reporter for The Daily Commercial/South Lake Press newspapers for 16 years. Additionally, Roxanne—now an award-winning journalist recognized by the Florida Press Club and the Florida chapter of The Society of Professional Journalism—continues working toward her secondary goal of becoming a published author of children’s books.
