Kenny Smith and his family have helped feed hungry Lea County residents for over four decades - and you might say that gives them something to crow about.

Smith earned his restaurant education working his way up the ranks to management at the Red Crow. He then opened Casey's,  a Lea County mainstay. These days, Paula (Smith's daughter) and Kerry Manis own and operate Casey's (located at 209 W. Broadway St. in Hobbs); although, Kenny still helps quite a bit when he isn't running Easy Par Gold, a "retirement job" located a few doors down from his grandson's catering business, KTM Catering. Needless to say, the Smith and Manis families keep pretty busy.

Smith began his career working as a dishwasher at the Airway Steak Room when he was 12 years old, but his main education was working for the Red Crow Drive-in starting when he was 14 as a cleanup man. He left 14 years later after eventually serving as manager of several of their locations across New Mexico and Texas.​Casey's opened in 1977. Business was originally under the Smith Company, evolving into the Kenny Company, later evolving into KC, and then Casey's.

 Believe it or not, Casey's originally had a barbed wire theme. Visitors to the restaurant today can't help but notice an overwhelming emphasis on Coca-Cola memorabilia, somewhat more inviting than barbed wire. They have over 10,000 pieces. The coke people apparently liked the attention. An executive visited one year, toured the restaurant, and even invited the family to visit the company's headquarters in Alanta.

Kenny and Peggy (pictured above) have been married since 1966 and have worked together most of those years. Casey's has been a family business from the start. Paula started helping at the restaurant when she was 8-years old. Their focus on customer service is key to their success as they know many of their customers by name and have personal stories with them. You might say Casey's has struck-gold.