‘He was hungry, we said no problem.’ Kelce devours Charlotte’s top barbecue
When in the Charlotte area, what would a Kelce brother do? The answer: Eat barbecue, of course.
“He said he was hungry, we said no problem. Thanks for dropping by Jason Kelce,” the Tuesday Instagram post from The Smoke Pit said.
Which one of the Charlotte area barbecue restaurant’s six locations did Jason Kelce visit? Unclear.
What did he eat? The picture shows a generous spread of sliced pork, brisket, ribs, sausage and more, containers of greens, slaw, and mac and cheese, plus trays of okra and cornbread.
Why was he here? We don’t know that, either.
CharlotteFive reached out to The Smoke Pit early Tuesday evening but didn’t get an immediate response.
But our best educated guess would be that the reason for Kelce’s visit has something to do with NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports, as the elder Kelce brother — who recently retired from the NFL — spent the day on a pit crew at Talladega over the weekend for driver Corey Day. (Day won the race.)
Who is Jason Kelce?
If you’re not in tune with pop culture at all, let us give you a quick primer. Besides being a Super Bowl champion, Kelce is brother to Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs star who’s engaged to superstar pop singer Taylor Swift.
The brothers also have a popular podcast together, New Heights, which is named after the Cleveland Heights area of Ohio they grew up in.
Together, the brothers are everywhere: in sports, in commercials and especially online.
Even their family members are stars now — especially their mom, Donna Kelce, who’s become famous in her own right. Jason Kelce’s wife, Kylie, who has her own Not Gonna Lie podcast, is well known, too.
Why The Smoke Pit?
The Smoke Pit is well known for having great barbecue, and its OG location is in Concord, right near Charlotte Motor Speedway. Its newest location recently opened in Mooresville to a line out the door.
The Smoke Pit was crowned the CharlotteFive Readers’ Choice Best Barbecue restaurant in 2024, and it has expanded with new locations since.
Commenters on the post agreed that Kelce had made the right choice.
“Best BBQ hands down!!!,” Billy White Shoes Johnson replied.
“He absolutely stopped at the right place,” someone at Jade Cut Visuals wrote.
“SEVEN MEAT FEAST for the WIN!,” M. Weaver added.
The Smoke Pit
Location: 796 Concord Pkwy N, Concord NC 28027
Location: 328 W. Plaza Dr., Mooresville, NC 28117.
Location: 8136 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277.
Location: 421 Cox Rd, Gastonia, NC 28054
Location: 1507 W Roosevelt Blvd., Monroe NC 28110
Location: 509 Faith Rd, Salisbury NC 28146
Cuisine: Barbecue
Instagram: @thesmokepit
