NC BBQ bracket winner: 3 years after it nearly closed, this famed spot is on top
In a time when barbecue seems more popular and trendy than perhaps ever before, one of North Carolina’s most prized pits — one with a long history and plenty of tradition — has staked its claim to the head of the table.
So say our readers, at least.
After more than 300,000 total votes were cast over six rounds, Wilber’s Barbecue — the steeped-in-tradition Goldsboro spot that’s been cooking whole hogs and serving hand-chopped ‘cue since 1962 — has been crowned the winner of our Ultimate North Carolina Barbecue Bracket.
Wilber’s took home 68% of the more than 93,000 votes in the final round, beating out Charlotte’s Midwood Smokehouse for the barbecue bragging rights.
Emerging early on as leaders in the initially crowded field of 64 barbecue spots across the state, the two restaurants were neck-and-neck throughout the bracket. But in the end, Wilber’s takes home the title of Best Barbecue in the state.
“There’s no doubt that we qualify for that moniker, for that title,” Willis Underwood III, who grew up in Goldsboro and is part of the group that purchased Wilber’s in 2020, told The News & Observer in an interview.
“We just, we have a way of cooking that makes our product, in my opinion and others’, far superior to anything else that others might produce.”
Wilber’s Barbecue: ‘We make art every day’
That “way of cooking” is in the tradition of eastern North Carolina style barbecue — whole hogs cooked over hardwood coals in a long, low and slow process that takes hours and typically stretches overnight.
The process is a labor of love that Wilber’s has practiced since the restaurant opened in 1962 under the late owner Wilberdean Shirley, and one that fewer and fewer barbecue restaurants in the state are able to master, or even attempt, today.
Current Wilber’s manager Willis Underwood IV, who is the son of Willis Underwood III, called the process and the resulting product a “beautiful work of art.”
“This we what we do,” Underwood IV said. “We make art every day, with the honoring the old and then trying to fight with the new, because everyone else is cutting corners and being able to use gas or use charcoal or do offset smokers. And we’re still doing it the same way.”
In its 60-year history, Wilber’s has earned a spot as one of North Carolina’s barbecue meccas, often topping lists of must-visit spots for barbecue pilgrims and purists.
“The history of Wilber’s, really, it’s an institution all across North Carolina,” Underwood III said.
While the restaurant’s top-notch ‘cue has plenty of following on its own merits, the Wilber’s gospel has spread throughout the state — and even the world, Underwood III said — thanks in part to the military members at nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, who get a lasting taste for the famous ‘cue during their time at the base, and vacationers headed to North Carolina beaches, who are are known to stop off at the restaurant during annual road trips.
The Underwoods said that sprawling, dedicated fan base played into their bracket win.
“It’s been a fight of our life,” Underwood IV said. “We’ve recruited so many different people from around not only North Carolina but the nation to vote.”
But Wilber’s is also a local, neighborhood spot that families routinely choose for gatherings and celebrations, filling the space with lifelong memories and deep roots.
“I hear stories every day of people saying, ‘I was here on my granddad’s birthday every year, we always came and had it here,’” Underwood III said. “And so it’s the memories that are evoked, and the memories yet to come that are still made for the folks, new and old alike, carrying on a tradition and allowing that to hopefully flourish.”
‘Saving the smoke’
A little over three years ago, though, it seemed that Wilber’s, like so many other storied barbecue joints throughout the state in recent years, would be shuttered.
A sizable tax debt and bankruptcy proceedings forced the restaurant to close its doors in the spring of 2019. It remained closed for months before Underwood III and a group of fellow Goldsboro and eastern North Carolina natives formed Goldpit Partners, LLC, and bought the storied restaurant for $350,000.
“It’s out of the love of preserving what I’ve always thought is probably the best barbecue around,” Underwood III said. “The heritage that Wilbur built out here was worth saving and carrying on.”
The restaurant reopened in July 2020 after the group restored the restaurant’s pits and completed other renovations, including updating the dining room. Much of the restaurant’s dedicated staff, though, remain the same.
“We couldn’t do this without the team here at Wilber’s,” Underwood III said.
The menu at the new iteration of Wilber’s still spotlights hand-chopped, eastern-style ‘cue in the starring role, but some new items are also available — namely beef brisket, offered on Thursdays, and baby back ribs, offered on Saturdays.
“It’s all about saving the smoke and the traditional way to do barbecue,” Underwood IV said. “Not only have we kept the same recipe, technique, style of cooking for the pork, but we do branch out a little bit.”
Even now, 60 years after it first opened and under new leadership, the restaurant continues to make a name for itself and stay top of mind in the state’s barbecue scene.
In April, when the North Carolina Tar Heels played Kansas for the NCAA men’s basketball national title, Gov. Roy Cooper bet Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly an order from Wilber’s if the Tar Heels lost to the Jayhawks. After the Tar Heels’ loss in the championship game, Wilber’s confirmed that they had done their part and shipped their beloved eastern-style barbecue to the Sunflower State.
“It’s no surprise that we’re in the top. I mean, it’s been open for 60 years,” Willis Underwood IV said of winning The N&O’s bracket. “It’s the best product in the state, probably the nation.”
The runner up: Midwood Smokehouse
Midwood Smokehouse put up a strong fight in our bracket, claiming the top spot in multiple preliminary rounds before ultimately falling in the finals.
Owner Frank Scibelli and pitmaster Matt Barry see their restaurant’s performance in the bracket as a testament to the following Midwood has built over the past 10-plus years — and as the latest in a long line of steps they’ve taken to put Charlotte barbecue on the map.
“When people talk about North Carolina barbecue, you know, you talk about Lexington, you talk about the old spots out east, but no one ever no one ever talks about Charlotte,” Barry said. “And I think that Charlotte, it definitely has to be recognized as a North Carolina city that’s got good barbecue options.”
Midwood largely represents New School barbecue in North Carolina, with a menu that goes beyond the typical eastern-style pork to offer barbecue favorites from other regions, including Texas-style beef brisket, Kansas City-style burnt ends and St. Louis-style pork ribs. The menu also features Tex-Mex options, including tacos and queso — things Scibelli said are some of their most popular offerings.
Still, even with the restaurant’s wide range of barbecue flavors, Scibelli and Barry noted that they try to stay as true as possible to the traditional methods of preparing each barbecue style they offer.
When they decided to offer burnt ends, for example, they traveled to Kansas City to try the region’s best versions and learn from the cooks who prepared them, then created their own version using many of the same methods.
The seemingly all-encompassing menu, along with Charlotte’s growing population, draws in people like a barbecue melting pot, Barry said.
“We want to appeal to everybody,” Barry said. “One of my favorite things about barbecue, is its communal effect.”
Midwood, which opened in 2011, has five restaurants in the Charlotte area. They’ll soon open a sixth location, expanding outside of Charlotte to Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow. Scibelli said the new spot will likely open in November.
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 5:55 AM with the headline "NC BBQ bracket winner: 3 years after it nearly closed, this famed spot is on top."
