Papa's BBQ & Seafood

We are open for business! We are having technical difficulties with our website, but can take your order over the phone. Call us at 912-897-0236!

We are hiring dishwashers and kitchen staff. Stop by during business hours to apply!

We will be closed for lunch on Friday, August 4, 2023. We will open at 4:00 for dinner.

Justin Brett Waters - View Obituary & Service Information Share Memories and Support the Family.

We are deeply saddened as we mourn the passing of our owner. Out of respect, we will be closed on Saturday, July 29. We will reopen Sunday, July 30 for regular hours.

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for his family and our staff, and we will be sure to share funeral arrangements as they are confirmed.

~ The Papa's BBQ Family

Come have dinner with us and support Savannah AMBUCS Tuesday night!

Papa's is open for Memorial Day on Monday May 29th. We'll be here from 11am-3pm so stop by for lunch or place your order for Boston butts, pulled pork, brisket, chicken fingers, pans of macaroni and cheese, baked beans, etc and save some work for your gathering with friends/family. We also do cheese platters, fruit platters, cookie platters. Order by Saturday and we'll have it ready for you Monday!

Congratulations to our 2023 graduates from SCPS. Matthew Gunn, Jep Hudspeth, Drew Wilson, Austin Saylor, Thomas Bradley, and Cole Burnsed. (Griffin Bazemore not pictured)

They did a great job this past Monday and we're open again for lunch this coming Monday. Everyone working on Mondays is 18 except for me and one server. 😆 It looks like Jep is the only one who did any work but of course he's Puttin' Papa's First Employee of the Decade. We're so thankful for the guys and for all of the staff here at Papa's. It's a difficult time trying to find workers and we have an exceptional crew.

We are open from 11-3 today. Come have lunch!

Starting Monday, May 15th, we'll be open for lunch from 11am - 3pm. Mondays will be SCPS day in the kitchen with all of our graduating seniors making sandwiches, frying, grilling, washing dishes, and doing prep. We'd love to see everyone come support our guys and Papa's as well. We'll take a picture of everyone Monday morning but until then here's Drew defending Papa's. For some reason Griffin just stands idly by.

Wrapping up telling everyone about our high school seniors I wanted to share just a little more about Drew Wilson and show some pictures to give a sense of a typical Sunday at Papa's. First, though, a huge thanks to Drew for recruiting his friends to work with us. One of the biggest hurdles since buying Papa's has been the high turnover of kitchen staff. In talking with other restaurant owners this seems to be the norm but it can be frustrating at times. Drew and the rest of the SCPS guys have been faithful, reliable, willing to learn, and eager to work. Drew has done every job in the kitchen from dishwasher to prep, fry, sandwich, and grill and it's good to have someone we can plug in wherever there is a need. But most of all Drew has kept me laughing. Not a Sunday goes by that I don't end up calling Drew a clown, or that he gets fired from his self-proclaimed job as "co-kitchen manager." When we tell him he's fired he says if he goes, the rest of Papa's Teen Work Force goes so I relent and let him call himself whatever he wants. Drew can make a club sandwich completely blindfolded, try and steal the Employee of the Year award from Smokey, or say something that makes Jep look like a human emoji🤦‍♂️but he's an incredibly hard worker and cares about putting out the best food that he can. At the end of the day that's what matters.

I know you guys are thinking half the senior class at SCPS works for Papa's. And if it was up to Drew they probably would. Cole Burnsed has worked on quite a few caterings with us and Drew keeps telling me to find a way to get Cole to leave his other job and work at Papa's with the rest of the crew on Sundays. But for now we're just grateful that Cole has willingly pitched in when we've needed extra help. The first catering he helped us with was a wedding in Richmond Hill not too far from Jep's house. Drew and I drove down in the catering van and Jep and Cole were to meet us. Drew and I were unloading the van, in drizzling rain, making trip after trip back and forth into the house with equipment. No Jep and Cole. Finally they came walking up the driveway looking pretty bedraggled - Jep's golf cart had broken down in the woods. We gave them some kitchen cloths to dry off with and they jumped in helping. At the end of the night we left a little space in the van next to the chafers for Cole, and I think Jep sat on top of a cooler for the ride back to his house. It was several months before Cole wanted to work with us again.

Cole Burnsed is a senior at Savannah Christian and will be attending either Georgia Southern or Mercer University in the fall.

Ok, we're on the home stretch. Our newest member of Papa's Teen Work Force is Matthew Gunn. Our recruiter Drew kept asking me if we needed anyone else in the kitchen and if we did his friend Matthew wanted to come work at Papa's. When Matthew came in to talk to me about the job it turned out I've known his great grandmother Catherine Hitt and grandmother Carolyn Gunn for years. Matthew also told me that on the night his dad proposed to his mom, they came to eat at Papa's. So of course I had to hire Matthew on the spot. Matthew's trained a little bit on the sandwich station but since we have such a pressing need for dishwashers he's remained in the dish pit. Washing dishes in a restaurant may not seem to be important but trust me, if you're without a dishwasher for one shift, let alone all day, you'll never take the job for granted. Anytime one of our other dishwashers calls out unexpectedly, as soon as I text Matthew he agrees to come in with no hesitation. Well, once he checks with his mom first. But having someone as reliable and dedicated as Matthew is such a blessing. Back in February I was talking with our kitchen manager Zach about having a deep cleaning day for the kitchen on a Monday when we're closed. Immediately Matthew, Drew, Griffin, Jep and Thomas said they were out of school that day and wanted to work. It's just so amazing to me that our high school guys wanted to come in on their day out of school to do some really tough work. We got a huge amount done and everything was looking great. And then someone tossed a 35 pound container of fryer oil...

Matthew Gunn is a senior at Savannah Christian and will be attending Erskine College in the fall on a fishing scholarship. We're hoping to talk Matthew's brother Luke into taking his place.

The fourth member of Papa’s Sunday Crew is Thomas Bradley. Thomas also started as a dishwasher, moved to the sandwich station, and helps with caterings. Thomas will tell you he’s the best dishwasher Papa’s has ever had and he’s not wrong – we’ve tried to get Thomas to train any newly hired dishwashers. But when it comes to making a Philly cheesesteak, Drew has him beat. Thomas, no one wants raw peppers and onions on their Philly no matter how much you insist otherwise. Like Griffin, Thomas helped at Thanksgiving and Christmas prepping the carryout orders and ended up baking one biscuit, making cheesecakes, red velvet cakes, hummingbird cakes, and coconut cream pies I’m sure the for the first time in his life. I think everything Thomas has done here at Papa’s has been completely new to him but his determination and drive to get it right have made him a valued member of our team. Sometimes when the tickets at lunch are printing one right after the other, I’ll oh so kindly suggest to Thomas hurrying up a little. He’ll tell me be patient, he’s going to make sure each sandwich goes out right. No mistakes. Hard to argue with that. It worked out that Thomas’ post is going up on Friday, shrimp creole day at Papa’s. He says it’s the best shrimp creole he’s ever had and even showed up several weeks ago to eat lunch when he was out of school early on a Friday. I sat at the table with him for well over two hours laughing about all the craziness that goes on here, Drew’s shenanigans, and talking about Thomas’ plans for the future. Thomas is an amazing young man and I have no doubt will do well at whatever he chooses. He asked me to write letters of recommendation for him for The Congressional Award and for his Eagle Scout candidacy and it was my honor to do so.

When tossing a 35 pound container of fryer oil, don’t count on Thomas to be the voice of reason…he left early for soccer practice.

Thomas Bradley is a senior at Savannah Christian and plans to attend the University of Georgia or Georgia Tech in the fall. Or maybe just stay in Savannah and work at Papa’s.

Griffin Bazemore wearing a teeny tiny helmet we bought for Papa's mascot Smokey the feral cat. Griffin and Drew swore they'd be able to get it on Smokey. Instead Griffin ended up wearing it. Smokey - 1, Griffin and Drew - 0

Today’s member of Papa’s Teen Work Force is Griffin Bazemore. Griffin initially started at Papa’s by helping out on caterings but now also works on Sundays as a prep cook. Griffin is beloved by our two full time prep cooks Charlesetta and Inez who can’t always remember his name so they just call him Big Truck Baby. Griffin can be given pretty much any task in the kitchen and knocks it outta the park…once he learned the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. If you’ve been to Papa’s and thought your crabcakes tasted a little extra spicy, thank Griffin. He was a huge help at Thanksgiving helping prep our pick-up orders of entrees, sides, and desserts. Griffin made the pecan pies and took an extra one home for his family. The next week his grandmother came to the restaurant to eat and I asked her how she enjoyed the pie. It was pretty good, she said, but hers is better. When I told Griffin about it he said Hey, in my family we tell it like it is. So again, thanks Griffin. No one can pack a truck for catering as efficiently as Griffin, and no one takes more time at caterings to make sure everything looks professional. We all like to give him a hard time but his positive attitude and sense of humor always shine through.

If someone is tossing a 35 pound container of fryer oil, make sure Griffin is there to go buy cat litter. The biggest thanks of all to Griffin for that.

Griffin is a senior at Savannah Christian and will be attending Georgia Southern in the fall where he will be majoring in The Blue Room.

Taking a quick break from Papa's Teen Work Force...come try our Thursday special, hamburger steak with sauteed onions and gravy, homemade mashed potatoes, one side, and a corn muffin.

Xavier Leddick, Jep Hudspeth and Griffin Bazemore pulling pork at a Papa's pig roast. Griffin gets the spotlight tomorrow. I hope everyone is ready.

Puttin Papa's First Employee of the Decade

Continuing our highlighting each of our high school seniors this week today's member of the Papa's team is Jep Hudspeth. Like Drew, Jep also started as a dishwasher and now is on the fry station on Sundays as well as helping with catering. Sunday lunch at Papa's is an incredibly busy shift but Jep works well under pressure. A few weeks ago Jep asked if he could work over his spring break and ended up washing dishes on the busiest day at Papa's in over a year. When the kitchen manager and Jep and I were finally leaving after 10:30pm I told Jep he earned Puttin Papa's First employee of the month. He told me no, he was Puttin Papa's First employee of the DECADE. I had to agree. Just don't ask him to toss Drew a 35 pound container of fryer oil.

Jep is a senior at Savannah Christian and will be attending Mercer University in the fall as a preferred walk-on for football . Come to Papa's on a Sunday and try his pork chops, fried shrimp, chicken fingers, or onion rings.

We wanted to show Drew when he's not mesmerized by a piece of Texas toast floating in midair.

Each day this week we'd like to spotlight one of our high school seniors who've become an integral part of the Papa's family. Drew Wilson started as a dishwasher and now mans the grill on Sundays and helps with caterings. He likes to come up with sandwich ideas and makes the best Philly cheesesteak you'll ever have. Drew's a senior at Savannah Christian and this fall he'll be heading to Piedmont University on a lacrosse scholarship. For his picture he wanted to show off his hibachi chef skills with a piece of Texas toast. Just don't toss him a 35 pound container of fryer oil.

Thank you for your patience with our credit card machine technical difficulties last week. We are back up and running and should have no more problems😃

Come in and enjoy our meatloaf special or one of your regular favorites!

Start your St. Patrick’s Day celebrating with our Corned Beef and Cabbage or a Reuben sandwich! ☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️

Come try our new Cajun inspired appetizers - Boudin Balls with remoulade. Boudin sausage and rice with a little kick!

Starting tomorrow and going through Fat Tuesday February 21st, come enjoy some Mardi Gras favorites at Papa's!

Stop by Papa's tomorrow and support Girl Scout Troop 30259 from here on the islands. They'll be setting up out front between 12:15 and 12:30. They'll have my favorite, Samoas, but of course plenty of the other varieties.

We're going to be baking up a storm on Monday in hopes of giving out lots of chocolate chewies for Valentine's Day!

Please see our new Sunday hours. We will be closing a little earlier and will still be open for lunch as usual!

Monday Closed
Tuesday 11am – 8pm
Wednesday 11am – 8pm
Thursday 11am – 8pm
Friday 11am – 8pm
Saturday 11am – 8pm
Sunday 11am – 3pm