Name: Jimmy’s Smoke House
Date: 5/14/26
Address: 6043 Old U.S. Hwy 52, Lexington, NC 27295
Order: Chopped barbecue tray with fries, BBQ slaw, and baked beans with Cheerwine (link to menu)
Pricing: $

The building on Old US Highway 52 in Welcome, NC has gone through a bunch of changes in the past 3 years. After operating as Rick’s Smokehouse for about 7 years, that restaurant closed and Cafe 71 Smokehouse took its place in late 2022. While each operated under different ownership, I was impressed by the quality of both wood-smoked barbecue places in the Lexington tradition.

Cafe 71 abruptly closed before I published my review, so rather than focusing on the positive aspects of the barbecue, I attempted to read the tea leaves as to what went wrong. However, it did emerge that new owners Candy Martin and James Sink, Jr. were going to take the restaurant space over and operate as Jimmy’s Smoke House with the longtime cook from both Rick’s and Cafe 71 in the kitchen, Glenn “Speedy” Holbrook (yet another Lexington-area “Speedy” after Speedy’s Barbecue and Speedy Lohr’s). Three years later, I finally checked it out.

Martin and Sink named the restaurant for Sink’s father and opened the business in spring of 2023 and kept the same ethos when it came to the barbecue – wood smoked Lexington-style – as well as much of the same menu. One positive change she did make was moving to freshly made burgers instead of frozen patties, though I did not try it this time.

On this day, I was talked into the chopped barbecue tray. Speaking of which, they have also made the change to aluminum trays very much in the spirit of Texas barbecue. I’m on the fence as to whether this aesthetic decision is a positive change but it in no way impacts the quality of the food.

As for the barbecue itself, I did not enjoy it as much as I recalled enjoying the chopped pork at Rick’s and Cafe 71. The wood smoke pits were firing away at lunch time but for me the pork just didn’t have it on this day even after combining it with the slaw on a bun to create a sandwich with some dashes of Texas Pete thrown in for good measure.

Through some miscommunication between myself and the waitress, I got a bun on the side instead of hush puppies. I didn’t feel like waiting for an order of hush puppies but I’ve read that they switched to donut-shaped hush puppies instead of oblong. Next time. The sides I did get were standard issue crinkle cut fries, a BBQ slaw with a shade of deep red, and baked beans. Perhaps I was bummed because I didn’t get my order right but all were, let’s say, fine.

That’s not to say Jimmy’s Smoke House is not worth trying. It’s a family-owned business that by all accounts is doing things the proper way a restaurant should and thus should be supported by the community since we shouldn’t take these places for granted. I’m certainly willing to try them again the next time I find myself between Winston-Salem and Lexington.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs
Pork – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs

Previously: