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Friday, October 30, 2026Oct 30

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Couch’s: Doing barbecue right since 1946

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couchs-doing-barbecue-right-1946 couchs-doing-barbecue-right-1946

The location of Couch’s Bar-B-Que restaurant always intrigued me, stuck by itself as it is on Old Lee Highway between the Bonny Oaks Drive/Collegedale exit off Interstate 75 and burgeoning Ooltewah.

After all, how does a restaurant make it these days if it’s not located between a nail salon and a trendy clothes outlet?

Since the restaurant’s been there since 1946, though, the third-generation owners must be doing something right. And after tasting their fare for the first time, I can testify they clearly are.

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Though barbecue is Couch’s specialty – it’s cooked on-site in a brick pit, hand-turned and basted with the same recipe as 1946 – there is much more to choose from.