What Happened to Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque? (Stillwater, MN)
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 14 Stillwater, Minnesota Closed January 2018
Current status
As of October 2026, Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque has closed — confirmed via startribune.com, January 2018.
What the source shows: The Star Tribune reported that Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque and Pirate Bar, open since 2008, closed in January 2018 after owner Tim McKee and chef Shawn Smalley decided to end the venture. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 14, Episode 6
- Aired
- Address 423 Main St S, Stillwater, MN 55082
- Website No current website found
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
Part 1 — Season 14, Episode 6 Aired
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque in the 'Unexpected Eats' episode, aired 2012-05-07, spotlighting the Stillwater, Minnesota restaurant's Caribbean-inspired smoked barbecue. Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque and Pirate Bar had operated on Main Street South in downtown Stillwater since 2008, combining a barbecue kitchen with a pirate-themed bar. According to the Star Tribune (2018-01), owner Tim McKee and chef Shawn Smalley closed the restaurant after nearly a decade in business, with McKee citing recent struggles as the reason for ending the venture. A companion Star Tribune article on the closure, published the same month, referred to the business by its full name, Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque and Pirate Bar. No source found describes a reopening or successor business at the Main Street address.
Part 2 — Season 19, Episode 14 Aired
On the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode 'Crazy for Chicken' (aired 2014-04-18), Guy Fieri returned to Smalley's Caribbean Barbeque and Pirate Bar in Stillwater. According to FlavortownUSA.com, Fieri called out the jerk pork tacos, topped with a grilled scallion aioli, and the slow-smoked jerk chicken, alongside the restaurant's Triple Six Wings. Smalley's opened in 2008 serving American-style takes on Caribbean barbecue, including jerk chicken, brisket, and wings, and had already appeared on the show once before, in an 'unexpected eats' segment in 2012. The 2014 visit focused on the restaurant's chicken preparations for the episode's chicken theme.
The episodes
Also in Season 14
Season 14: 16 of 34 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners
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Ep 5Cane Rosso
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Ep 5Counter Cafe
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Ep 6Johnny Garlic's
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Ep 7Pecan Lodge
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Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- startribune.com https://www.startribune.com/smalley-s-caribbean-barbeque-closing-after-almost-a-decade-in-stillwater/468822343
- startribune.com https://www.startribune.com/bye-bye-to-pirate-bar/469406773
- flavortownusa.com https://www.flavortownusa.com/locations/519/smalleys-caribbean-barbeque
- dinersdriveinsdives.com https://www.dinersdriveinsdives.com/Smalleys-Caribbean-Barbeque-and-Pirate-Bar-Stillwater-MN
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record ddd-0510 · checked by Cal Marchetti.