How Stoby's Began
On July 21, 1980, David Stobaugh opened Stoby's Restaurant after selling his car to buy the beginning food inventory. David had spent all the proceeds from a $4.000 loan co-signed by his brothers and did not want to call back asking for additional money. This was the culmination of a path began four years prior, in January of 1976, during his final semester in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he was finishing a degree in banking and finance. Parked atop a hill overlooking Fayetteville, he was praying about what he was going to do after graduation. It was at that moment that he felt like the Lord put a hand firmly on his shoulder and around his back, and that he should go into the restaurant business.
Fast forward four years, and David found himself driving down Donaghey Street when he passed by Mrs. Smith's Pie Shop. He thought "that would be a great place for a restaurant", and he promptly turned his car around, entering the quaint establishment. Approaching the white-haired lady stationed behind the cash register, he inquired, "Are you Mrs. Smith?" With a confirming nod, she replied, "Yes, I am." Extending his hand, David introduced himself, saying, "My name is David Stobaugh. What if we split the rent and you sell pies and I'll sell sandwiches and I bet your pies sales will go up". Mrs. Smith leaned in closer, her voice hushed, "This place is driving me crazy," she confided. She went on to explain that she and her son-in-law co-owned the business and added, "We might just make you a deal."
A few days later later, Mrs. Smith contacted David with exciting news for the broke 26-year-old who wanted to be in the restaurant business. She said, "William said that if you purchase the pizza oven and our custom stainless-steel table, you can simply take over the rent." With the support of his brothers, who cosigned a loan, David handed Mrs. Smith a check, sealing the deal. Then, in a surprising turn of events, Mrs. Smith asked, "Now, I need a job. Do you want to hire me?" Thus, Mrs. Smith became Stoby's first employee, a role she would faithfully fulfill for the next two decades until her well-deserved retirement in 2000.
To this day, Stoby's continues to cherish and preserve the legacy of Mrs. Smith as the Italian Cream Cake, Strawberry Cake, Peanut Butter Pie, coconut and chocolate pies are all recipes Mrs. Smith brought with her from "Mrs Smith's Pie Shop.