A Charlotte staple is revving up to celebrate 20 years of barbecue, beer + bikes
This year, Mac’s Speed Shop is celebrating 20 years of finger-lickin’ barbecue, ice-cold beer and live music at its original South End location. But when the restaurant — best known for its hickory-smoked pulled pork, burnt ends, beef brisket and house made barbecue sauces — first opened its doors back in 2005, the neighborhood looked much different.
It’s hard to imagine, but before all the bars, breweries and coffee shops that currently dot the landscape, South End used to be the industrial part of town.
“When we opened Mac’s, there was nothing around us,” co-founder Hall Johnston told CharlotteFive. “The real estate across the street was vacant. There was a vacant lot to our left and an old rundown travel agency to our right.”
Little did Johnston and and fellow co-founder Wynn Davis know that 20 years and nine different locations across the Carolinas later, Mac’s would become the barbecue staple that it is today.
“South End was just getting started … No one knew what it was gonna turn out to be today,” Davis said.
The founding fathers
When Mac’s Speed Shop got its start, it was a shot in the dark; a dream restaurant conceived by two friends with a penchant for thrill-seeking.
“Hall and I are lifelong friends,” Davis explained. “We’ve always enjoyed doing exhilarating things, whether it’s riding motorcycles or cars, listening to music — you know, just having fun.”
The idea for a restaurant was born out of a desire for a place that united Davis’ and Johnston’s hobbies: motorcycles, live music and good food.
When Johnston’s family offered the piece of real estate where Mac’s now sits, the duo began brainstorming their version of the perfect restaurant. The only hangup? Neither Davis nor Johnston had any experience in the restaurant industry.
“The only problem was, we didn’t know anything about cooking or running a restaurant,” Davis said with a laugh.
Together they enlisted the help of John “JD” Duncan, long-time Charlotte restaurateur and owner of former restaurant Bonterra. Duncan passed away in May.
“His other restaurant was a white tablecloth restaurant, and here we are wanting to be the complete opposite, with a kind of a rowdy in-your-face place,” Davis said.
With help of Duncan, his chefs and some old family recipes, the first menu was created.
“(Duncan) and some of his kitchen folk were dying to do barbecue and had some old family recipes,” Davis explained. “That’s how we got started there.”
Davis’ and Johnston’s friends — David Jewell, Hal Kempson and Andy Cox — also helped get Mac’s off the ground by becoming founding partners.
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Though Davis and Johnston didn’t initially have any restaurant or cooking experience, they began educating themselves. The duo took trips to barbecue hubs like Alabama, Tennessee, Texas and Eastern North Carolina to learn different techniques and styles. They enlisted in barbecue competitions and learned with a hands-on approach.
While Mac’s menu has made some changes over the years — with the addition of lighter bites like fresh salads and sandwiches — the core remains much the same.
“I wouldn’t say, from Day 1 everything’s the same, because we’ve learned along the way from experts in the field,” Davis said. “We’ve taken the basics that we started with and only made them better.”
A new kind of barbecue joint
As Charlotte natives, Davis and Johnston were used to the red-and-white-checked, tablecloth-laden barbecue joints that are ubiquitous to the South. But with Mac’s, they wanted something a little edgier.
Enter: motorcycle culture.
As avid riders, the pair wanted to create a place where other riders could show off their hogs, hang out with friends and even catch a game on the TV.
“We just wanted a place where we could meet up with friends, gather, ride our motorcycles, maybe have a cold beer, and listen to some live music,” Johnston explained.
Though Mac’s does cater to motorcyclists, at its core, it’s a family-friendly restaurant. Davis describes the crowd to be a mix of families with children, Bank of America executives grabbing lunch and bikers hot off a good ride.
“It’s a good mix of people, and I think everybody enjoys everybody,” Davis said.
A changing landscape for barbecue and Charlotte
Before it was Mac’s Speed Shop, the location was an old garage called Mac’s Automotive Electric. And, prior to that, it was a car wash — the canopy that still sits over the parking lot serves as a remnant.
“It was Wynn who finally came up with ‘Mac’s Speed Shop’ and kept the name from the original,” Johnston explained.
At the beginning, Johnston and Davis weren’t expecting success. The restaurant was at the very end of South End, which, at the time, wasn’t the booming neighborhood it is today — much the opposite.
“Everybody laughed at us, saying we’d never make anything happen,” Johnston said. “It really was kind of designed to fail.”
But over the years, South End began to grow. And by then, Mac’s had already planted its roots.
“Soon, South End started growing, and we were already there,” Davis said.
Mac’s Speed Shop today
Today, Mac’s Speed Shop has nine locations across the Carolinas and continues to boom with locations in Mooresville and Fort Mill, South Carolina, on the way.
As for Mac’s longevity, Johnston credits it largely to the public’s support and always staying true to the restaurant’s core values.
“It’s been really amazing to watch it take on a life of its own and to have the public’s support,” Johnston said.
“For us to be around 20 years, it blows our mind. We really didn’t expect to make it around for one year. 20 years later, we’re still here having a good time doing the same thing, trying to stay true to our roots.”
Mac’s Speed Shop’s Fall Pig Pickin’
Location: Mac’s Speed Shop, 2511 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28203
When: Sunday, Oct. 19 from 12-4 p.m.
What: Hosted in partnership with the Carolina BBQ Festival this large-scale event to celebrate Mac’s 20th anniversary will feature tastings from local pitmasters — including Mac’s — live music, and Southern hospitality in celebration of community and the rich barbecue tradition in the Carolinas.
Mac’s Speed Shop
Location: Multiple locations in Lake Norman, Matthews, Steele Creek, South End
Cuisine: Barbecue
Instagram: @macspeedshop
Uniquely Charlotte: Uniquely Charlotte is an Observer subscriber collection of moments, landmarks and personalities that define the uniqueness (and pride) of why we live in the Charlotte region.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
