Pete’s BBQ

Charlotte Barbecue News from the Third Quarter of 2021

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

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

Linkdown: 9/1/21

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Sadly, for the second year in a row the Mallard Creek Barbecue has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus. The Mallard Creek Barbecue is by far the oldest barbecue tradition in Charlotte, so its a shame that the 91st edition of it will have to wait another year. Assuming that’s the case, I’ll be there but will be missing their slightly controversial version of Brunswick stew come the 4th Thursday of October.

Native News

Jon G’s gets the Axios Charlotte bump

“On Barbecue” by John Shelton Reed gets reviewed by Star News Online

Smokeshow BBQ will be smoking Guatemalan Churrasco this Friday at Salty Parrot Brewing in Charlotte

Shaw’s Barbecue in Williamston is profiled by WNCT’s People & Places

Non-Native News

Secondhand Smoke is continuing the Pete’s BBQ tradition in Rock Hill and will be open this Labor Day Weekend; Pete’s BBQ served every Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day weekend for 55 years before closing in 2018

John T Edge explores the vernacular of Fresh Air Bar-B-Que’s architecture

In Houston, barbecue pop-ups are all the rage

Scott’s Bar-B-Q is featured in the first episode of “Backroad Bites” from South Carolina Education TV, which is back for a third season

The BBQ Review checks out The Southern Belly in Columbia, SC

Prayers up to Louisiana

My first (and last) time at Pete’s BBQ in Fort Mill, SC

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

Monk: On Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays for Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day weekends for the past 55 years, Pete Wheeles of Pete’s BBQ has been serving up barbecue out of his home in Fort Mill off India Hook Road. Earlier this week, the Charlotte Observer posted a story that this weekend would be the last one of service ever. Pete’s wasn’t really on my radar until that story but I made my way on the Friday of Memorial Day 2018 to check it out while I could. Getting there shortly before 9, I encountered about an hour’s long line of several dozen folks.

IMG_2322IMG_2329

Folks at Pete’s BBQ primarily order bulk orders for their holiday weekend plans – often several pounds of barbecue and several racks of ribs in addition to pounds of slaw or beans – so the line wasn’t moving at quite the clip I would have wanted for my much smaller order. Plus, I had no idea about the actual barbecue itself. After about 20 minutes, the line had moved about 50 feet. This was going to take a little longer than an hour.

IMG_2332

Forty minutes later, I approached the doorway of the shack. But may I say, I love this sign.

IMG_2334IMG_2342

Pete’s only takes cash or check and I had just gotten only $20 cash out of the ATM on my way there. And again, I had no idea of the barbecue itself, so I just went with a pound of barbecue and a pint of sauce and headed back to my car, passing a news truck on the way out.

IMG_2348IMG_2357

Waiting in line, I overheard someone stating that if someone hadn’t had Pete’s BBQ before then they were in for a treat. Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite the case for me. I found the barbecue to be oversauced to the point where I couldn’t detect any smoke in the meat. It wasn’t bad per se, but it just wasn’t my style of barbecue.

IMG_2367IMG_2377IMG_2382

Locals certainly seem to love Pete’s BBQ and showed out on the first day of their last weekend of service ever (some apparently lining up as early as 5am for a 7am opening). If you are reading this on Monday, May 28, 2018 there may still be some barbecue available (though once they run out they run out). If you are reading this anytime after, then you have missed it. Regardless of how I feel about the barbecue (which again, isn’t my style but different strokes etc.), 55 years is quite an achievement.

Congrats to Pete’s BBQ and enjoy the retirement.

Linkdown: 5/23/18

/ Barbecue Bros / Leave a comment

– Congrats to our neighbors from Memphis in May, The Shed, on their Grand Championship win

– In case you hadn’t heard, Dave Grohl was all up in some Memphis in May this past weekend, particularly at our neighbor’s booth

– Pete’s BBQ in Rock Hill, which has served barbecue during four holidays of the year, is shutting down after 55 years of service after this Memorial Day Weekend; congrats to the 98-year-old Pete Wheele’s on his retirement!

– Raleigh is a favorite away game for this Pittsburgh Penguins blogger in part due to the barbecue

– Eat Raleigh has a short blurb on Sam Jones BBQ at the Thrive NC festival earlier in May

– Is Charleston barbecue slowly taking over the southeast? Both Home Team BBQ (Columbia) and Rodney Scott’s BBQ (Birmingham) announced expansions last week

– All Swig & Swine Charleston-area locations will have $4 sandwiches on May 30 to celebrate 4 years; proceeds will go to Hogs for the Cause

– This NC travel guide from a British paper mentions barbecue (particularly Sam Jones BBQ) as as reason why North Carolina should be your next adventure

– This looks very, very promising

– RIP Mama Dip