Monk: If there was an overarching theme for Charlotte barbecue the past three months, it would be expansion. In the second quarter roundup, I had hoped for new concepts and expansion. While we didn’t necessarily get new concepts (yet), we did get quite a bit in the way of expansion. Mac’s Speed Shop, Midwood Smokehouse, and Noble Smoke all announced new locations, (although only one of which is in Charlotte), and rumor has it another Charlotte barbecue joint may be expanding as well.
Not to mention, Phar Mill Brewing in Harrisburg expanded in a slightly different way. Pharr Mill BBQ is utilizing a Jon G’s barbecue pit and they typically serve some combination of brisket, ribs, and pork Thursdays through Saturdays.
July
7/3 Pharr Mill BBQ starts smoking on their Jon G’s barbecue pit at Phar Mill Brewery in Harrisburg
7/10 Noble Smoke celebrates 2 years in business
7/22 FS Food Group announces a Midwood Smokehouse location for Raleigh later his year
7/29 Smoke Show BBQ pivots to Tex-Mex barbecue
7/31 Charlotte-raised Bryan Furman returns to Charlotte and brings his Bryan Furman BBQ pop-up to Sweet Lew’s BBQ
August
8/9 In a nice nod to its employees, all Mac’s Speed Shop locations closed for the day to fight employee burnout
“Our people have been going way above and beyond to make our carry-out, eat-in and delivery business grow by leaps and bounds”… “I’ve never seen a team so dedicated to bringing fun and good food back into the lives of people pent-up by the pandemic.”
Mac’s President Shang Skipper
8/10 Sweet Lew’s Barbeque introduces the “Carolinas Frito Pie”: Carolina bbq hash, warm pimento cheese and jalapeños
8/14 Mac’s Speed Shop is expanding to Fort Mill
8/26 Secondhand Smoke takes over the Pete’s BBQ legacy in Fort Mill
8/27 Jon G’s gets the Axios Charlotte bump
8/30 The 91st Mallard Creek Barbecue is postponed yet another year
September
9/8 Indian Trail’s 100 Main Beef and Barbecue gets featured in Spectrum News for being both a barbecue restaurant and a country store
9/10 Barvecue, the wood-smoked plan-based barbecue company out of Cornelius, is rolling out to 12 colleges and universities and just signed a deal with Sprouts Farmers Market
9/9 Jon G’s Barbecue make this list of “Best New Barbecue Joints in the South” from Southern Living
9/16 Noble Smoke announced its second location will be a stall at the Optimist Hall food hall
9/16 More coverage on the stall from Axios Charlotte
9/24 K&N BBQ competes against Dan Good Que in Food Truck Rumble CLT