Charlotte’s first farm-to-table restaurant serves the same Southern food 53 years later
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Charlotte’s Classic Eats
As new restaurants open every day in Charlotte, it’s easy to forget about the old standbys, the places that have grown up alongside the Queen City. Our Charlotte’s Classic Eats series highlights the places that you have frequented for years, reminding us why they have stood the test of time.
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“Best Southern Cooking,” “Best Meat n’ Three” and other awards hang above the register as you enter Gus’ Sir Beef. This is the kind of restaurant — absent of any glamour or glitz — that you can feel has plenty of stories to tell.
Some of the stories are easy to swallow — André the Giant ducking as he entered, Jim Bakker holding the first meeting of The PTL Club in a corner booth and famous wrestlers Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat sharing a meal before a wrestling match Uptown.
Others are harder to believe — did Elizabeth Taylor really eat an entire chicken by herself?
For every celebrity story, however, Gus’ Sir Beef has produced tenfold stories for everyday Charlotteans. The late Gus Bacogeorge immigrated from Greece to the United States in 1953, purchased Johnny’s Grill in 1957 and opened his namesake restaurant in 1969.
Regulars — many who have eaten at Gus’ for years — share stories with Gus’ son, Thrace Bacogeorge, who took over the restaurant in 2000.
“They talk about my dad carrying them in the back to get some banana pudding. Or about the Hot Wheels and dolls we used to give kids,” Thrace told CharlotteFive. “We’ve had a lot of really cool moments.” Thrace, who grew up in a house behind the restaurant and hosted his pee wee football team at the restaurant for pizza, has enjoyed a front row seat for many of them.
Healthy vegetables
Gus bought Johnny’s Grill from the Couchell family (of Showmars fame) in 1957. When the City of Charlotte purchased this property in 1967 to widen Monroe Road, Gus decided he’d open another restaurant — this one bearing his name.
“Sir is kind of a play on sirloin,” Thrace said. “Also, being an immigrant, ‘sir’ carried a sense of respect with it. Dad wanted another word between Gus’ and Beef so that people would know it was not just another steakhouse — so it became Gus’ Sir Beef.”
Since its earliest days, the restaurant has satisfied Southern appetites by offering entrees alongside a wide array of vegetables — collard greens, green beans, fried squash, stewed apples and corn among them. However, Gus wanted to offer healthy versions of these dishes, so he opted to never use grease or MSG.
Taking it one step further, Gus purchased a farm in 1972 in order to grow many of the vegetables served at his restaurant. “We really were the first farm-to-table restaurant in Charlotte,” Thrace said. Gus’ Sir Beef still gets many of its vegetables from local farms, and many of the dishes are homemade, including some of the higher calorie options like banana pudding and potato salad.
Country style cooking and friendly service
Talk with Thrace for any length of time and he’ll likely mention his father’s work ethic. Spend any amount of time in the restaurant and it’s obvious that the work ethic hasn’t skipped a generation. “Alright, no more spaghetti. Have you made the salads? We need more green beans, too,” he hollered from the kitchen during a recent lunch rush.
Thrace has added a few items to the menu, however they had so many vegetables to begin with that he’s primarily added entrees. Fried pork chops and kielbasa with onions and pepper are among his most successful additions.
“A lot of Greeks ended up in restaurants, and we knew we had to serve what people wanted. So we have a small Italian section on our menu, some Mediterranean options and lots of American food,” he said.
Gus’ Sir Beef has seen its fair share of change over the years — from different locations to various menu items. “We were one of the first pizza shops in the city, before it became so popular and chains appeared,” Thrace said. “We kept spaghetti, but we let pizza go — it was cost prohibitive.”
More importantly, Gus’ Sir Beef has kept what works. Beef tips, fried squash and collard greens remain the top sellers since the restaurant opened. The country style cooking, friendly service and regulars keep the business alive.
“We always have newcomers,” Thrace said. “But it’s our regulars who kept us going during COVID — and they’ve been great since.”
Like other classic restaurants in Charlotte, Gus’ Sir Beef welcomes newcomers and would love to make more regulars. If you visit — be sure to try the fried squash — it’s world-famous after all.
Gus’ Sir Beef
Location: 4101 Monroe Rd, Charlotte, NC 28205
Neighborhood: Oakhurst
Cuisine: Comfort food, Southern
Hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
To order: dine in or call 704-377-3210 for takeout.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
