Our Story
It All Started with a “Little Dooey”
Long before it became Starkville’s most beloved barbecue joint, The Little Dooey was just a phrase shared among friends.
Back in the late 1950s, Margaret Ann and Barry Wood were two high school sweethearts who loved food, family, and Friday night football. Margaret Ann’s mother often spent her evenings cooking with close friends Jack and Louise Scales, where a friendly competition would break out over whose dish was best. They’d laugh, cook, and say, “Let’s cook a little dooey.”
As Margaret Ann recalls, “A little dooey,” in her mother’s words, meant something made just for you — with love.
From Backyard Cookouts to a Starkville Landmark
As the Woods married and built a life together, that phrase never left them. “Having a little dooey” became their way of inviting friends and family over to share good food and good company — the kind of gathering where you never knew exactly what was cooking, only that it was going to be good.
By the early 1980s, Barry and Margaret Ann decided to turn that spirit of Southern hospitality into something more. With Barry’s knack for barbecue and Margaret Ann’s treasured family recipes, they dreamed of opening a place that felt like home — where every meal was made with the same care their family had passed down for generations.
Building Something special
In 1985, their dream took shape inside a small service station at the corner of Old West Point Road and University Drive. With the help of their children, Bart and Bari Ann, and close family friends, Barry and his son rebuilt the space from the ground up — cinderblocks, fire pit, and all.
When it came time to name the restaurant, their friend Albert Clark reminded them: there could only be one name — The Little Dooey.
From a handful of barbecue sandwiches and sides served to just a few diners at a time, the Woods’ humble restaurant quickly became a Starkville favorite. Within two years, The Little Dooey moved into a small red house — the same one that still stands today on Fellowship Street.
Faith, Family & Southern Flavor
Barry and Margaret Ann never set out to build a barbecue empire — only to serve good food and share God’s blessings with their community. As Barry often says,
“I had the best architect, business planner, advertiser, and cook you could ever hire — Jesus Christ.”
Over the years, The Little Dooey has earned national recognition from The Food Network, The Wall Street Journal, Southern Living, and ESPN’s College GameDay. But for the Woods, the real reward is seeing families gather around their tables, just like theirs did decades ago.
Over 40 years later, The Little Dooey remains a family-run labor of love. Bart and his son, Carter, now carry on the tradition, while Barry still busses tables and greets guests.
Through faith, family, and a whole lot of smoke, The Little Dooey has become more than a restaurant — it’s a Starkville story, one plate at a time.
