Wingmen

“Smokey” John Reaves

“Smokey” John Reaves opened Smokey John’s Restaurant on Mockingbird Lane over 32 years ago. A successful businessman who once operated several nightclubs with Dallas Cowboys greats Drew Pearson and Harvey Martin, along with restaurants and a string of other businesses, Smokey acknowledges that for a good part of his adult life, money was his God. After hearing a message on the 12th Chapter of Luke (the rich fool) his life began a transformation. But it wasn’t instantaneous. As he rediscovered his faith and began shifting his priorities, he decided he could no longer sell alcohol at his nightclubs. And Smokey began trying to live with God at the top of his priority list. Now he holds a Tuesday fellowship lunch every week that pulls standing-room-only crowds to a backroom that might comfortably seat 30, yet regularly hosts twice that and more. It is a haven for both the believer and the broken, for people living on the street and those with upscale addresses in Preston Hollow and the Park Cities. “Rich folks, poor folks, black, white, brown, Asian they all come to this meeting”, Smokey said. “This is what heaven looks like. And I want to get a glimpse of heaven here on earth so when I get there I don’t have culture shock.”