"If you're not looking for it, you'll miss it." That's how Smyrna Local described the barbecue restaurant tucked into Building 4000 of The Eddy at Riverview Landing. The same article said most Smyrna residents had never heard of it, even though it was ranked among the best Texas-style barbecue spots in the country.
Part of the reason was the setting. The businesses on Riverview Road sit on the ground floor of an apartment building, just north of U.S. 78, on the west bank of the Chattahoochee. There was a river park behind them, but its path was gravel.
That changed on Oct. 8. A paved trail now runs along the river at Riverview Park, so you can arrive on foot or by bike, walk the riverbank first, and then wander up to the food. For this corner of Smyrna, that's a new way to spend an afternoon.
What Opened On October 8
The Trust for Public Land, Cobb County and the City of Smyrna cut the ribbon on a paved half-mile section of the RiverLands Showcase Trail at Riverview Park, 6275 Riverview Road. Cobb Courier reported that it's the northern section of the nearly 3-mile Cobb RiverLands Showcase project.
Urbanize Atlanta called it the Riverview Park Trail. Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton and Cobb Commissioner Monique Sheffield were expected at the opening. Here's what the new trail looks like on the ground:
- Surface: paved and multi-use, replacing the old gravel path.
- Setting: it winds through a linear park along the river, with shaded stretches and open views of the water.
- Who paid for it: the Trust for Public Land and the City of Smyrna.
- Other park features: the city lists an outdoor stage and amphitheater, open space, restrooms, parking, and a dock with kayak access to the Chattahoochee.
- Parking: the opening invitation pointed visitors to on-street parking and metered parking nearby at Riverview Landing.
It's a short trail. Half a mile won't fill a long run on its own. What it does is give the river corner a starting point it never had, and the three businesses next door fill out the rest of the afternoon.
The Food Row It Leads To
Three businesses share the ground floor at 6255 Riverview Road. Smyrna Local described them as one retail corridor. Their hours differ quite a bit, and that should set the timing of your visit more than anything else.
| Stop | Where | Posted hours |
|---|---|---|
| Chattahoochee Coffee Company, The Eddy | 6255 River View Road | Mon–Fri 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Sun 9 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Owens & Co. | Building 4000, Suite 100 | Wed 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Thu–Sat 11:30 a.m. until sold out, Sun noon until sold out |
| Reformation Brewery Smyrna | Building 4000, Suite 200 | Thu 4–9 p.m., Fri–Sat noon–10 p.m., Sun noon–9 p.m., plus Wednesday specials 3–9 p.m. |
The restaurant has a new name, and that's worth knowing before you search for it. Smyrna Local reported that after a partnership change in October 2025, pitmaster Robert Owens kept the Smyrna location running, and the restaurant is being rebranded from Owens & Hull at Grand Champion BBQ to Owens & Co. Some pages, including the coffee shop's location page, still use the old Grand Champion name.
Its reputation dates back to August 2024. That's when, according to Smyrna Local, Texas Monthly published its first ranking of the best Texas-style barbecue outside Texas. Editor Daniel Vaughn visited 149 restaurants in 37 states, and the Smyrna restaurant came in at No. 3 in the country.
The same article describes Central Texas-style brisket smoked for up to 20 hours over Georgia oak. It also mentions a new specialty sausage every week, smoked burgers on Thursdays, and smoked wings and spare ribs on Sundays.
"Until sold out" is the hours listing that matters most. A river walk that runs long can mean showing up after the brisket is gone. If barbecue is part of the plan, finish your walk before Owens & Co. opens and get in line early.
A Saturday In The Right Order
With those hours in mind, here's one way to fit everything into a single trip:
- Coffee around 8 a.m. Chattahoochee Coffee opens at 8 on Saturdays. It offers free parking with validation in The Eddy's retail lot, plus free street parking. Its location page also mentions open access to the river park overlooking the Chattahoochee.
- The trail next. Take your cup down to Riverview Park and walk the paved section along the river, then circle back.
- Lunch when the smoker opens. Owens & Co. opens at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays and closes when the food runs out.
- Reformation in the afternoon. The brewery opens at noon on Saturdays and stays open until 10 p.m.
The brewery's posted calendar also gives a reason to come back on a weeknight. Music Bingo runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, and Saturday, Oct. 31 is one of its Saturday Specials days. Trivia Night runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. Specials change from week to week, so check the brewery's calendar before you go.
The River Line Is A Few Minutes Up Oakdale Road
The trail opening also brings attention back to the Civil War history along this stretch of the river. Johnston's River Line, a chain of Confederate fortifications, ran through what is now south Smyrna. Two parks on Oakdale Road preserve pieces of it, and either one fits easily into the same afternoon.
Shoupade Park, at 4785 Oakdale Road SE, is a 2.35-acre passive historic park run by Cobb County. It contains two Civil War shoupades. According to the River Line Historic Area, it also has a trench, an artillery redan, and four interpretive signs. The entrance is on Oakdale Road, and parking is limited.
River Line Park, at 6043 Oakdale Road, is a city park with a walking trail that leads to a shoupade. It also has fields, a playground, a pavilion and restrooms. Its splash pad, a $2.6 million project according to the Marietta Daily Journal, had a 2026 season that ran from May through Sept. 9. For now the park is a fall walk, not a place to cool off.
Pairing the Riverview Park trail with either Oakdale Road park gives you a morning by the river and an afternoon among the earthworks.
Where The Trail Stops For Now
The new section is the start of a much longer route. The Cobb RiverLands Showcase project is meant to follow the Chattahoochee between I-285 and Mableton Parkway, connecting Riverview Park with Discovery Park in Mableton. It's also one piece of the larger Chattahoochee RiverLands plan, a proposed 100-mile linear park through 20 cities and seven counties.
The connecting route between the two ends hasn't been built yet. The southern end already has a 0.6-mile pilot trail at Discovery Park at the River Line, which opened in December 2024. We wrote about that segment in our post on Mableton's river trail. For now, the Smyrna and Mableton sections are two separate trails with the same long-term goal.
The Trust for Public Land's project page lays out the plans for the southern end. They include a regional trailhead tentatively called RiverLands Gateway Park, an ADA-accessible kayak launch, a boat ramp, and a 2.7-mile greenway trail linking Mableton Parkway to Riverview Landing. The page didn't give a current completion date for that work. Its earlier forecast for the Smyrna section was July 2026, and the trail opened about three months after that.
Smyrna's in-town dining spots have their own fall calendar, which we covered in our look at the city's four restaurant pockets. Riverview Road is on the city's edge and runs on a different schedule. It now has a trail, a well-regarded barbecue counter, a brewery and a coffee shop all at one address. For more on Smyrna, see the Smyrna neighborhood guide.
If you live near the river side of Smyrna and wonder how a new trail next door could affect your home's value, AllenCo Homes can walk you through what nearby sales show. Leanne's team follows these Smyrna changes closely. When you're ready, request a free home valuation and we'll put together a clear, data-backed number for your address.
