Smoke drifts from the pits while new ideas simmer just as steadily inside The Magnolia Pit.

For owners who have spent years building careers in some of Shreveport-Bossier’s best-known kitchens, the restaurant’s new chapter is about more than barbecue. It is about creating a gathering place shaped by community, collaboration and creativity.

Before taking over The Magnolia Pit, Valerie and Taneia Benn, the team behind the restaurant, worked throughout the local culinary scene, including stops at Noble Savage, Bella Fresca, Cypress by the Revenir, Koi and The Pearl.

“We’ve made our way around,” Taneia said. “We wanted to make a move for ourselves and bring what we think the community needs from us.”

That vision eventually led to their purchase of The Magnolia Pit with support from investor John Strand.

The move also came with a major relocation to 440 Olive St.

After outgrowing concerns tied to the restaurant’s previous location, the owners wanted a space that felt safer, more inviting and better suited for the kind of experience they hoped to create for customers.

Now, the restaurant’s new home is allowing them to push their concept further.

Instead of leaning solely into traditional barbecue, The Magnolia Pit is evolving toward what the owners call “chef-based barbecue,” blending elevated flavors and refined techniques with the comfort and familiarity people expect from smoked meats.

“We’re looking more toward the chef side of barbecue versus the barbecue pitmaster side of barbecue,” she said.

That approach includes overnight brining meats, experimenting with house-made Cajun tallow injections for brisket and expanding the menu with salads, dips, vegetarian options and seafood selections.

“We want everyone to feel included,” she said.

The restaurant is also building partnerships designed to create something larger than a traditional dining experience.

One of the biggest collaborations involves Anthony Felan and his concepts, Fat Calf Brasserie and 2nd Act. The partnership will eventually bring late-night cocktails, tapas-style offerings and a speakeasy-inspired atmosphere to the space after regular restaurant hours.

“After the restaurant closes, there’s going to be a transition where the music changes, the vibe’s a little bit more upbeat,” Taneia said.

The vision extends outdoors as well.

Plans for the property include expanded patio seating, live music, cigar nights, smokers on display and partnerships with local nurseries and artists to create a communal atmosphere where customers can gather, shop and linger.

That sense of community remains central to everything The Magnolia Pit hopes to become.

“We need to stop competing with each other,” she said. “There’s so much opportunity to just coexist and partner.”

The owners believe local support is what makes restaurants like theirs possible in the first place.

“Without the support of the community, you have nothing,” she said.

That appreciation shapes everything from pricing decisions to menu development and partnerships with other local businesses.

“We want our community to feel like we know what they’re going through because we’re going through the same,” she said.

As for what first-time customers should order?

“I would say our ribs and our brisket,” she said confidently. “I think that we have some of the best in town.”

For The Magnolia Pit, the future is about more than barbecue. It is about building a place where food, music, art and community all come together under one roof, creating an experience that feels uniquely Shreveport.

This article was originall published in the June 2026 issue of Three 18 Insider magazine.