Since 2016
About Tin Top
A father, a son, a smoker, and a small building on Old Highway 25 with a tin roof on it.
How it started
Calera first, then Columbiana
Mike Gannon opened the first Tin Top BBQ on County Road 33 in Calera. Word got around, and in 2008 his ribs made the top ten in The Birmingham News best ribs contest.
His son Chase grew up around that pit and wanted to run a place of his own. In 2016 the two of them opened a second Tin Top BBQ in Columbiana, about twenty minutes up the road. Mike liked to say there was nothing better than going into business with your kids.
Mike has since passed away. Chase runs Tin Top BBQ now, and anybody who knew Mike will tell you Chase is just like him, at the pit and at the counter. Every year the family holds the Mike Gannon Memorial Championship BBQ in downtown Columbiana in his honor.
How we cook
The smoker runs every morning
The smoker is loaded and lit early. Pork butts and brisket go on first because they take the longest. Chicken, sausage, ribs and pig wings follow through the morning so everything is ready when the doors open at ten.
Chase teaches every cook on the crew the way Mike taught him and our manager Bailey: how to load and unload the smoker, how to build the fire, how to light the pit. The sauce is made in our kitchen. So is the banana pudding.
None of it is fancy. It is the same food, cooked the same way Mike cooked it, by people who have been doing it for years.
Tin Top truly has become my home away from home. The customers we have are always friendly and welcoming, and the Gannons treat every employee like family.
Bailey, manager, in Shelby Living magazine
The place
Small inside, roomy out
Seating
A few tables in the dining room, a front porch and a back patio. There is a TV for the game, kept low enough to talk over.
Kids and groups
High chairs, a $3.99 kids meal, and enough room on the patio for a ball team after practice.
Access
Accessible entrance, parking, restroom and seating.
Hours
Monday to Thursday, 10am to 7pm. Friday and Saturday, 10am to 8pm. Closed Sunday.
Come see what the fuss is about.
121 Old Highway 25 W, Columbiana, AL 35051
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