Beloved BBQ joint closes restaurant after 10 years. Here’s where it’s headed next
Mac’s Speed Shop is growing yet again.
The award-winning barbecue, beer and bikes concept is gearing up to open a new restaurant in Fort Mill, South Carolina, later this month. The restaurant will start welcoming guests “in the next couple of weeks,” Mac’s co-founder Wynn Davis told CharlotteFive.
“The new location will feature the same authentic barbecue, cold beer, live music, and laid-back atmosphere that our guests have come to expect from Mac’s, while allowing us to continue growing and serving a vibrant, rapidly expanding community,” Davis said.
The new spot, initially slated to open in mid-2022, will be located just off South Carolina Highway 160, the Rock Hill Herald previously reported. A banner spotted outside the restaurant this week said employee training is underway.
It will mark Mac’s ninth location (and only its second in South Carolina), joining existing Charlotte-area spots in South End, Steele Creek, Concord and Lake Norman.
“Guys, we are so excited we cannot contain it,” the restaurant teased in a recent Instagram post. “Fort Mill, we’re coming for you.”
It comes after Mac’s abruptly closed its Matthews restaurant last week after nearly a decade in business. Its owners said the restaurant wasn’t able to renew its lease.
“While we’re disappointed we couldn’t come to an agreement with the landlord to remain in the space, we’re excited about the future and the opportunities ahead with our new Fort Mill location,” Davis said.
In 2021, The Herald reported that the restaurant group had plans to build a second restaurant off SC-160 but was tight-lipped about the concept. The two restaurants would share parking on the three-acre parcel, but it’s unclear if that plan is still a go.
“Steele Creek is part of what made us look into Fort Mill,” Shang Skipper, then-president of parent company Mac’s Hospitality Group, told The Herald at the time.
“We’ve seen a lot of guests coming across the South Carolina-North Carolina border to have lunch and dinner.”
Mac’s Fort Mill restaurant will serve its signature barbecue, slow-smoked meats and sides — although customers should expect an “elevated” look and feel, The Charlotte Business Journal reported.
“We want to stay close to our roots, but our menu is always evolving,” Davis told the outlet.
Mac’s Speed Shop
Location: 1954 SC-160, Fort Mill, SC 29708 (opening soon)
Location: Various
Cuisine: Barbecue, craft beer
Instagram: @macspeedshop
This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 12:04 PM.