Food Truck Series: Exit 87 BBQ & Catering

Article by Anna Cooper

Photos by Scott Taylor

Just off I-40, halfway between Memphis and Nashville, Josh Wadley owns Jackson's Exit 87 BBQ & Catering food stand. This fantastic, permanent food truck is a favorite of locals and truckers alike. As his customers call it, Wadley’s BBQ shack serves fresh food that will leave you wanting to come back again and again. We kept hearing about it from different people and decided that we had to give it a try—with such great recommendations, it just had to be good! 

Wadley’s journey with his food stand is a long one, spanning over 20 years. He started out in life as a West Tennessee native—beginning his life near Jackson—but he ended up in Detroit when he was about eight years old, living with his aunt who had taken him and his sister from their parents. Then, in the following years, his troubles really began, “When you take a young kid from the country around Jackson, Tennessee and you put them in a city environment like that—you have to fight,” Wadley said. He continued, “I ended up getting incarcerated and made a ward of the state. I was locked up from the time I was 13 years old ‘til the time I was 19 years old.” After finishing his time in juvenile detention he came back down to Tennessee. “My mom came and got me; I spent three months with her and she passed away.” Wadley was unable to roll with the punches life was throwing his way. “I caught an adult sentence because I didn’t know how to live out in the free world.” This time Wadley was sentenced to 11 years behind bars, and while he got out on parole a few times, the 11 years grew to 15. Wadley sighed, “It was a revolving door with all kinds of things in between,” but in 2006 he got out for good, and that’s when food really came to the forefront.

Wadley knew he didn’t want to end up in prison again. He’d tried construction in between his prison sentences and knew he didn’t want to try that avenue again either. Wadley actually found what he was going to attempt next by happenstance. He explained, “My wife loves BBQ and we stopped out at a place down south called Community Grocery and BBQ and the BBQ was horrible. I had never had a BBQ in my life and I asked my wife, ‘Is that the way it's supposed to be?’ and she said, ‘No!’” Wadley, being Wadley, wasn’t going to let bad food continue to be produced at the grocer. He told the people working, “Whoever you’ve got cooking here, you need to fire them and hire me. I can do a much better job and I don’t know anything about it,” which is exactly what ended up happening…Wadley was hired to wash dishes. He then was taught how to cook and make their BBQ. “Within three months,” Wadley explained, “I took over his kitchen and operation. Then I bought him out and closed the restaurant down. I took a little concession stand we had bought and went up to the interstate. The rest is history.” Now 17 years later, Wadley is still making the best BBQ that can be found right off of I-40. 

On Exit 87’s menu, you’ll find something for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and maybe even a snack in between! For breakfast, there are a variety of egg and cheese sandwiches, including sausage, chicken, baloney, and plain egg and cheese. For lunch and dinner, they serve both regular and large BBQ sandwiches, as well as BBQ plates, BBQ packs, ribs, rib sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches, BBQ baloney sandwiches, and several types of hot dogs! They also have nachos, chili, soft drinks and a variety of chips. 

All of the food is homemade, thanks to Wadley and the good people who work with him, and all of it is amazing! We had the sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich, and it is the perfect blend of everything you could dream of in a meal. The sausage was thick and juicy; the egg was fried to perfection, and every bite had the perfect ratio. We also took home a huge BBQ sandwich that made our mouths water from the delicious smell. Everything we got, from the breakfast sandwich to the BBQ was amazing, but if you asked for a recommendation, we’d have to tell you the ribs! They’re amazing!

Exit 87 is located just off of Interstate 40 at Exit 87 or 2049 Highway 70 East, Jackson, TN 38305. To contact them call (731) 988-6222 or email: exit87bbq@yahoo.com. They’re open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 am to 6 pm. Just follow all of the truckers lining up to get his food—you know, when there are that many big trucks pulling off of the interstate for a meal, it has to be fast, and good!