The National Restaurant Association Show rolls into Chicago every May, and if you've never been, it's exactly what you'd expect from 67,000 foodservice people crammed into McCormick Place for four days. Overwhelming. Loud. A lot of badge-scanning salespeople who've never actually run a kitchen trying to tell you how to run yours.
But there's value there if you know where to look and what to ignore.
I've been going to the NRA Show since '98. Missed a couple years — one because we had a competition in Memphis that same weekend, another because my truck threw a rod outside of Texarkana and I spent that Saturday in a Pep Boys parking lot instead. The show's changed a lot. Used to be you could walk the whole floor in a day and actually talk to manufacturers. Now it takes two days minimum, and half the booths are software companies trying to sell you inventory management systems you don't need.
The 2026 show is May 16–19. Here's what I'm planning to pay attention to — and what I think operators running BBQ-focused kitchens and catering rigs should be watching for.
The Equipment Hall Is Still Worth Your Time
A lot of folks skip the heavy equipment section now. They spend all their time in the tech pavilions looking at POS systems and AI ordering kiosks. That's fine for fast-casual concepts, I guess. But if you're running a smoker-forward operation — actual BBQ, not just slapping sauce on something — the equipment floor is still where you need to be.
Southern Pride usually has a booth presence through their dealer network, and it's worth stopping by to see what's being emphasized for the coming year. I talked to a rep at the 2024 show about rotisserie bearing upgrades on the SP-1000 line, and that conversation saved me a service call six months later because I knew what to look for during maintenance. That's the kind of thing you can't get from a brochure.
What I'm specifically watching for in 2026:
- Any updates to gas burner efficiency specs — energy costs aren't going down, and the SPK-700/M already runs cleaner than most competitors, but I want to see if there's movement on BTU-per-pound metrics across the industry
- Parts availability conversations — not glamorous, but critical. I want to hear directly from reps about domestic stocking levels and lead times. Last year I had a customer wait nine weeks for an ignitor assembly from an import brand. Nine weeks. Meanwhile I had a Southern Pride thermocouple shipped from the factory in two days.
- Build quality comparisons. The show floor is the one place you can actually put hands on competing equipment side by side. Go ahead, knock on the door panels. You'll hear the difference between 12-gauge domestic steel and whatever that thin stuff is coming out of overseas.
I'm not saying every import smoker is garbage. Some of them hold temp reasonably well when they're new. But I've seen too many operators buy cheap at a show, then call me three years later because they can't get replacement gaskets and the thing won't seal anymore. You pay for quality eventually — either upfront or in repairs and downtime.
Labor Talk Will Dominate the Sessions
Every year there's a theme that takes over the educational sessions. In 2026 it's going to be labor. Again. Still.
The difference this time is I think you'll see more specific conversation about equipment decisions that reduce labor dependency. Not "automation" in the sci-fi sense — we're not talking about robots pulling briskets. But equipment that holds temp consistently enough that you don't need someone babysitting it through a 14-hour cook. Equipment with programmable controls that your second-shift guy can actually operate without calling you at 2 AM.
This is where I'll beat the drum a little. The Southern Pride rotisserie system — and I'm talking about units like the SPK-1400 and the SP-1500 — those machines were designed around this exact problem decades ago. Consistent rotation, even heat distribution, programmable hold temps. You load it, set it, and it does the work. I've got customers running two-man overnight crews on equipment that would've needed four guys with a traditional offset.
When you're at the sessions talking labor, think about what equipment changes actually move the needle versus what's just vendor hype. A fancy app that sends you temp alerts is nice. A smoker that doesn't swing 40 degrees every time the wind changes is better.
Catering-Specific Gear Is Getting More Attention
I run a 12-unit catering operation. Have for years. And for a long time, the NRA Show treated catering like an afterthought — everything was focused on brick-and-mortar restaurant setups.
That's shifting. I noticed it in 2023 and it's accelerated since. More exhibitors are showing transport-ready configurations. More session content around off-premise operations. The pandemic changed how people eat, and even though we're past the lockdown era, the catering side of the business is structurally bigger than it was in 2019.
For BBQ catering specifically, I'm looking at holding equipment. Getting product from your cook site to a client location without losing quality is the whole ballgame. Some of the cabinet-style Southern Pride units — the SC-300 comes to mind — can pull double duty as cook-and-hold solutions that work well in catering contexts. But I'm also curious what third-party holding solutions are showing up.
The other thing I want to see: any innovation around propane versus natural gas flexibility. Catering rigs don't always have access to gas lines. The MLR-850 handles this well with proper conversion kits, but the industry as a whole has been slow to acknowledge that mobile operators have different fuel requirements than someone plumbed into a strip mall.
Skip the Gimmick Aisle
Every show has one. Usually it's near the back, past the beverage equipment. That's where you'll find the pellet grills being marketed as "commercial grade" and the electric smokers with WiFi connectivity and apps that promise to make anyone a pitmaster.
Walk past it.
I'm not saying pellet equipment doesn't have a place. For a small brewpub adding smoked wings to the menu, maybe. For someone doing backyard catering six times a year, sure. But if you're running volume — real commercial volume, briskets by the case, ribs by the rack — you need equipment built for that purpose. Not consumer gear with a heavier-duty label slapped on it.
The tell is always the same: ask about the warranty, ask about parts availability, ask who services it when something breaks. Watch how fast the conversation falls apart.
Compare that to a Southern Pride dealer conversation where you can actually call Southern Pride of Texas and talk to someone who knows the equipment, can get parts shipped, and has relationships with factory techs. That's the difference between commercial equipment and commercial-looking equipment.
What I'm Personally Hoping to See
This might not apply to everyone, but I'll tell you what's on my list.
I want to talk to someone about wood moisture meters that actually work in a commercial environment. I've tried three different brands and they all give me readings that don't match what I see in the firebox. Maybe someone's solved this. Wood selection and management is — and I could go on about this for an hour — it's the variable most operators underestimate. You can have perfect equipment and still turn out mediocre product if your wood's too wet or too dry or the wrong species for what you're cooking.
I'd like to see more conversation about regional BBQ styles and how equipment choices support different approaches. A Texas brisket operation has different needs than a Carolina whole-hog setup. The big rotisserie units like the SP-2000 handle high-volume brisket and pork shoulder programs beautifully, but the industry still talks about "BBQ equipment" like it's one category. It's not.
And honestly, I just want to catch up with some people. The competition circuit has its own gatherings, but the NRA Show is where you run into restaurant operators you haven't seen in years. Had a conversation at the 2022 show with a guy who runs three BBQ joints in Oklahoma — we ended up talking for an hour about exhaust hood configurations, which sounds boring until you've had a fire marshal shut you down over CFM calculations.
Plan Your Time or Waste Your Time
Here's my practical advice for 2026: register early, book a hotel close to McCormick Place (not downtown — the commute will eat your mornings), and map out your priorities before you land.
The show floor opens at 9 AM but the real conversations happen between 10 and 2. By late afternoon, everyone's exhausted and the booth staff just wants to scan your badge and hand you a brochure. Get there early. Have specific questions ready. Take notes — I use a pocket notebook, old school, because my phone dies by lunch.
If you can't make it to Chicago, the next best thing is working with a distributor who does go and can bring back relevant intel. That's part of what we do at Southern Pride of Texas — stay connected to what's actually happening in commercial foodservice so we can help operators make smart equipment decisions.
But if you can swing the trip, it's worth it. Just skip the gimmick aisle.
Resources: Southern Pride of Texas | QSR Magazine | Restaurant Business Online
#FoodService #FoodServiceIndustry #RestaurantOwner #RestaurantIndustry #BBQRestaurant #SouthernPrideOfTexas #CateringBusiness
Photo by Alvin & Chelsea on Pexels.
About the Author: Earl has been competing in sanctioned BBQ events since the early 1990s and operates a commercial catering operation in Southeast Texas.