Each smoker is made with quarter-inch CNC steel. They come in sheets and we weld them into custom smokers that start around $3K and go up from there,” said Lawson.

Ferdinand Graham, a self-taught welder, makes standard and custom barbecue grills/smokers. He has worldwide ambitions for his hometown business.

The custom smokers can run from $3,700 to whatever the customer wants, Heath Shockey said, adding that they did a bid for a $500,000 smoker.

BBB warns that a custom barbecue smoker business has cut off communication with customers after receiving payment.