The Memphis King is located in Schenectady's Goose Hill neighborhood and features classic smokehouse BBQ, handcrafted sandwiches, homemade sauces, award-winning mac and cheese, and a variety of slaws and salads.

The Memphis King was opened in 2013 by Brandon Canton and his father Bob. Brandon, who went to school to study art, never intended on being in the restaurant business.

After purchasing a small smoker and experimenting, he found that he had both a passion and a talent for smoking meats (and fish, veggies, etc). Over a decade later, and almost completely self-taught, Brandon is considered to be one of the premier pit masters in Upstate New York.

After Bob’s retirement, Tommy Nicchi bought into The Memphis King in 2025. Tommy is a talent agent turned Schenectady restaurateur (The Broken Inn, The Horses Lounge, The Parlor at Muni, etc) who believes deeply in community, and that if you treat a customer with respect and love, they’ll become a walking advertisement.

Put another way, Brandon is the artist, Tommy is the agent, and their BBQ is king!