Tastes of the past: These are the Charlotte barbecue joints you miss the most
Decades-old wood-fired barbecue pits once anchored neighborhoods all over Charlotte. But now, most of those classic restaurants are gone, leaving us to grieve the loss while new tastes have moved in.
Most recently, Boss Hog BBQ in Sherills Ford shuttered its doors on July 4, reinforcing the notion that good things unfortunately can’t last forever.
But before we even got that news, we had asked our readers a simple question: What are the closed Charlotte-area barbecue restaurants you miss the most?
The answers came pouring in, with folks sharing memories of good times — and good eats they had in those barbecue restaurants of yesteryear. Those comments offer a collective eulogy for the places that shaped our families and our city’s history with meals shared over hickory smoked meats and stacks of napkins.
Here are some of the Charlotte barbecue joints that you once held most dear, and what you miss most about them.
Bar-B-Q King
Bar-B-Q King hasn’t been gone for long — the West Charlotte drive-in closed Nov. 1, 2025. But the memories of the restaurant open since 1959 are still going strong.
Dale Wright is among those missing Bar-B-Q King. “Growing up in Charlotte in the late 60’s early 70’s, it was my mom’s favorite place to eat. My kids and grandkids all knew the Bar-B-Q King, and we would take my conversion van there for dinner. When I worked at the airport we would do ‘chow’ runs to [the] place.”
Regular visits were a must for Diane, who said, “I miss BBQ King. We used to live in Belmont and went to the BBQ King every weekend. We really miss it!”
Ben House solidified a trip to the restaurant into other community traditions. “My son and I didn’t get there often, but it was at least a yearly event when we went to Restaurant Depot to get supplies for our annual Boy Scout Troop 11 BBQ event in March. So get a BBQ sandwich on the way to getting ready to make BBQ!”
Bill Spoon’s BBQ
Perhaps one of the biggest favorites of times past is Bill Spoon’s BBQ, an iconic Charlotte spot that started out in 1963 as Jackson and Spoon Barbecue and evolved over time to feed generations before closing in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My whole family misses Spoon’s!,” Debbie Darden shared. “Just loved the authentic old school BBQ, with hush puppies and coleslaw. When I heard it was closing, I bought 20 lbs to put in the freezer. Really miss it!”
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Dave Gaughan said, “I grew up eating there, often with my grandmother. We knew the staff by name, and I have sorely missed it these last few years. Charlotte, as far as I know, no longer has a whole-hog NC BBQ option and that is truly a shame.”
Other memories shared include:
- "We rented out the restaurant for my 60th birthday party. GREAT food and great owners,” Gary Silverstein said.
- “Great food, family run. Red and white vinyl tablecloths! Hush puppies to die for!,” Kristin Jackson shared.
- “Mr. Bill Spoon was a funny jovial person, Steve Spoon was a super nice guy. Best Eastern Style BBQ in the Carolinas!,” a reader wrote without leaving a name.
- Louis said, “Mr. Bill Spoon was a real gentleman! Hush Puppies and vinegar sauce were fantastic!!”
Bubba’s Barbecue
Bubba’s Barbecue closed up shop after 40 years in January 2026, when owner Ralph Miller told CharlotteFive that he’d reached a point with health issues where he could no longer lift pigs onto the pit.
The restaurant’s complicated history also stretched back to Jackson and Spoon’ Barbecue — which later became Spoon’s Barbecue — on South Boulevard, Miller said. In 1987, he purchased the restaurant and the original recipes, then later renamed the restaurant Bubba’s Barbecue and moved it to Sunset Road, where it had served Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue since 1994. (The Spoon family, meanwhile, opened Bill Spoon’s BBQ on South Boulevard and ran it until it closed in 2020.)
“Best, and only as far as I’m concerned, Eastern style BBQ in the region,” William Murray said of Bubba’s. “Also the fried pork skins were absolutely delicious.”
Kathleen noted, “Not only the vinegar-based barbecue, hush puppies and banana pudding but Bubba’s magnetic personality. His stories made every visit special!”
Carolina Country BBQ
Carolina Country BBQ was a Tyvola Road restaurant that Charlotte Observer writer Helen Schwab wrote up in 2008 as “a serviceable introduction to the art of ‘cue.”
“Plenty in the state are plainer or more rawly authentic than this, but around here, this is a good bet. Sauce is a tomato-based mix, with plenty of sugar and vinegar. Quick, quick service and heavy, sweet pups. Lunch and dinner daily,” she noted in a best local restaurants piece.
Stoo Potts wrote: “Great BBQ. I used to eat lunch there often when I worked across the street from the old Carolina Coliseum. I often brought out-of-town visitors there. Charlotte politicians used to frequent it often. Sue Myrick, Charlotte’s first female mayor, could be seen eating lunch there, too.”
Mallard Creek Barbecue
The famous Mallard Creek Barbecue, which came to an end in 2025 after 93 years, is also much missed in Charlotte.
Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church’s annual barbecue event was known for drawing big crowds — and big-name politicians, looking to mingle with potential voters — to eat pulled pork and Brunswick stew.
CharlotteFive reader Frank called out the loss of what started out as a 1929 church fundraiser for constructing Sunday school rooms during the Great Depression and grew into a longstanding tradition.
“Generational leadership of the four main components of the BBQ has stepped aside, and our process simply can’t sustain the voids,” organizers said on social media.
Old Hickory House
Old Hickory House closed down for good in 2015 after 58 years of serving Lexington-style barbecue and Brunswick stew. Readers have been bemoaning the loss ever since and made note of that in a 2023 CharlotteFive survey of the city’s iconic but closed restaurants that they wished would make a comeback in Charlotte.
John Burtis was among those reminiscing in an email to CharlotteFive, sharing: “The best barbeque restaurant in Charlotte, past or present, was the Old Hickory House on North Tryon Street. I first ate there in April 1975, and rarely missed a Friday for the next 40 years if I was in town.
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“Bobby and Gene Carter ran the place for much of that time until their sons, Kevin and David, took over. The incomparable waitress with an attitude, Betty Hilliard, was there for almost that entire time. The pork was of the best grade, and it was cooked over hickory wood from start to finish in an open pit inside the restaurant,” he continued.
“The sauce was a unique combination of tomato and vinegar — but the pork was so good it didn’t need sauce. The Texas toast was an added treat. And there’s never been a Brunswick stew that matched what you got at the Old Hickory House. It was simply one of a kind. It was a sad day for Charlotte when the restaurant closed in 2015.”
Other memories included:
- “You could smell the hickory wood a quarter mile away. When you got inside you could see the pit. It had the best Brunswick Stew I ever tasted. Man, I miss that place!!,” David Ramsey said.
- “Favorite birthday dinner spot for my family,” Sharon Davis shared.
- CharlotteFive reader Jim said, “They cooked the barbecue in full view of the patrons which was superb, sliced or diced, and their excellent baked beans had bits of barbecue that gave them special flavor. The Brunswick stew was uniquely theirs and ‘to die for.’ They closed because of the traffic snafus during the light rail construction but never came back. That was the go-to for barbecue for decades, and after these years now, I still miss it.”
- “Miss the trust in house pit cooked BBQ and homemade beans and Brunswick stew,” Todd Lankford wrote.
Rogers Barbecue
Stretching back further in time, Rogers Barbecue — which once had locations on Atando Avenue and Wendover Boulevard — was mentioned as a reader favorite from decades past. An earlier location sat on Mint Street in uptown.
Its Brunswick stew and cornbread were legendary in the 1960s and ‘70s, as was its barbecue sandwiches, many Charlotteans recalled on previous Charlotte Eats posts.
“We miss Rogers Barbecue the most!!!!!!,” an unnamed reader wrote.
Merrill Gowdy and David Anderson were among readers who paired Rogers and another old favorite — Bill Spoons BBQ — together in their remembrances of meals past.
“The quality of the meat was always high quality, and it was well cooked and quickly served. Prices were good, and I frequently saw people I knew,” Anderson shared. “It’s a shame that both had to close,” he added.
Sauceman’s
Sauceman’s, a South End barbecue shop that moved from the South Tryon and West Boulevard area due to redevelopment before eventually closing, is also among the spots missed in Charlotte.
Former Charlotte City Council member Larken Egleston recalled Sauceman’s as “just about the only place in Charlotte doing true Lexington-style BBQ.”
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