Friday Find: Franklin Barbecue on ReOpen

Monk: Aaron Franklin and Kevin Pearce from Franklin Barbecue open up about how they have navigated the safety protocols, the pivot to curbside takeout, and the tricky finances during the pandemic. Franklin is sporting a pretty sweet pandemic hairdo, by the way.

Description:

ReOpen is a short-format docuseries that gives viewers a window into the difficult decisions that restaurant chefs and owners are making every day to try and provide hospitality, keep diners safe, and save their businesses during a global pandemic.

Each episode focuses on a different restaurant or culinary business — how they’ve survived during the shutdown, their thoughts on the government’s response to the pandemic, and where they go from here.

In this episode, we talk to Aaron Franklin and Kevin Pearce from Franklin Barbecue.

How to Order Takeout from Our Favorite NC Barbecue Restaurants (East)

Monk: We featured our favorite Charlotte barbecue restaurants and how to order takeout from them as well as select restaurants from the Piedmont and western part of the state last week. Here in this post we are featuring more notable restaurants from the eastern part of the state, some of which we’ve tried and some of which we still need to get to – at least those that posted updates on Facebook.

Please note: As everything is pretty much a fluid situation these days, please call ahead or check on social media to ensure that the restaurant is open and serving.

Grady’s BBQ (Dudley)
Wednesday to Friday, 10am to 3pm; Saturday, 10am to 4pm Now Closed
Call ahead to order (919) 735-7243

Lawrence Barbecue (Raleigh)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm
Link to order online or call ahead to place order (919) 596-6923

Longleaf Swine (Raleigh)
Order by Wednesday for Sunday delivery and by Sunday for Wednesday delivery
Link to order online

Picnic (Durham)
Sunday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm
Link to order online

Picnic (Raleigh at the future Wyatt’s Barbecue location)
Varies; check Facebook page
Call ahead the day before to place order: (919) 908-9128

The Redneck BBQ Lab (Benson)
Sunday to Thursday, 11am to 7pm; Friday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm
Link to order online, call ahead to order (919) 938-8334, or pull up and put on hazards on for curbside service (seriously)

Sam Jones BBQ (Winterville)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 9pm; Sunday, 11am to 3pm
Link to order online

Skylight Inn (Ayden)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm
Call ahead to order (252) 746-4113

Southern Smoke BBQ (Garland)
Pick ups will be in Clinton, Elizabethtown, and Garland at 5:30
Link to order online, call ahead to order (910) 549-7484, or email Matt Register at matt@southernsmokebbqnc.com

How to Order Takeout from Our Favorite NC Barbecue Restaurants (Piedmont and West)

Monk: We featured our favorite Charlotte barbecue restaurants and how to order takeout from them earlier this week, and in this post we are featuring our favorite restaurants from the Piedmont and western part of the state.

Please note: As everything is pretty much a fluid situation these days, please call ahead or check on social media to ensure that the restaurant is open and serving.

Apple City BBQ (Taylorsville)
Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 9pm
Check their Facebook page for details on how to order

Barbecue Center (Lexington)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm
Call ahead to place order (336) 248-4633

BBQ King (Lincolnton)
Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm
Call ahead to place order: (704) 735-1112

Buxton Hall Barbecue (Asheville)
Monday to Sunday, 12pm to 7pm Closed as of 4/1
Link to order online or call ahead to place order: (828) 232 7216

Hubba Hubba Smokehouse (Flat Rock)
Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm
Link to order online or call ahead: (828) 595-9849

Hursey’s Bar-B-Q (Burlington, Mebane, Graham)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 9pm
Link to order online plus drive-thru, delivery via GrubHub, or call ahead to order (336) 226-1694

Lexington Barbecue (Lexington)
Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm
Call ahead to place order: (336) 249-9814

Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge (Shelby)
Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm; Sunday 11am to 4pm
Call ahead to order: (704) 482-8567

Stamey’s Barbecue (Greensboro)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 9pm
Link to order online or drive-thru

The Smoke Pit (Concord)
Monday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm
Link to order online or call ahead: (704) 795-7573

How to Order Takeout from Our Favorite Charlotte Barbecue Restaurants during Stay at Home

Monk: As of Thursday at 8am, Mecklenburg County is enforcing a Stay at Home order effective until at least April 16. Thankfully, residents are still allowed to go to a restaurant “for take-out, delivery or drive-thru.” As hard as restaurants have already been hit, this will be even more of a blow for those that are trying to stay open through these weird times.

Thusly, if we are able, we should do all we can to support our local barbecue restaurants if we want them to still be around after the Covid-19 pandemic. Here’s a list of our five favorite Charlotte options based on our Charlotte Big Board.

Please note: As everything is pretty much a fluid situation these days, please call ahead or check on social media to ensure that the restaurant is open and serving.

1. Jon G’s Barbecue
March 28th is sold out but stay tuned to their Facebook page for future events
Link to Facebook page

2. Noble Smoke
Monday to Sunday, 10:30am to 8pm
Link to order online

3. Sweet Lew’s Barbecue (available curbside at Dish until Sweet Lew’s reopens on 5/7)
Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 8pm
Call ahead to order: (704) 344-0343 (delivery also available)⁠⠀

4. Midwood Smokehouse (Central Ave, Park Road, and Ballantyne locations only)
Monday to Sunday, 11:00am to 8:00pm
Link to order online

5. Bill Spoon’s Barbecue
Monday to Wednesday, 10:30am to 3pm; Thursday to Saturday, 10:30am to 8pm
Call ahead to order: (704) 525-8865