Charles Stamey

Linkdown: 3/20/24 – The NC BBQ Hall of Fame Edition

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Monk: John Tanner did some digging on the brand new NC Barbecue Hall of Fame, which was recently formed. Some details in his website here:

The first class of inductees were honored on March 1 in Burlington:

  • Kent Bridges of Alston Bridges Barbecue in Shelby
  • Steve and Gerri Grady of Grady’s BBQ in Dudley
  • Charles Hursey of Hursey’s Bar-B-Q in Burlington
  • Wayne Monk of Lexington Barbecue in Lexington
  • Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville and Raleigh
  • Pete Jones of Skylight Inn in Ayden
  • Charles Stamey of Stamey’s Barbecue in Greensboro

John has hopes that the NC BBQ Hall of Fame can help fill the void left by the passing of Jim Early, the founder of the North Carolina Barbecue Society, some years back. I have the same hopes, and looking forward to see what comes next.

Native News

Monk: Check out a preview of a recent episode of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show with Ronald Simmons of Master Blend

Pinhouse in Charlotte is cooking two pigs for their Pig Pickin’ this Saturday and sandwiches will be $2; all sales are benefitting their Marketing Director’s Dad who has been going through kidney failure and looking for a kidney donor

Volunteers needed for the Carolina BBQ Festival in Charlotte on April 5-6; link here for more information

Stamey’s has new cups stating “94 years and still smoking”

Firehawk Brewpub is launching a kayak club

Laurinburg is hosting the Suds and Swine Barbecue Festival, a NC Whole Hog Barbecue Series event

Non-Native News

John Tanner has some of the best brisket he’s tasted outside of Texas at Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix

LeRoy and Lewis recently celebrated the 7 year anniversary of their food truck in addition to the 4th week of service in their new restaurant and bar

Friday Find: A City Built on Barbecue (Gravy Podcast ep 15)

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Many cities claim to be barbecue capitals (Ayden, Lockhart, Austin, Murphysboro, Owensboro, etc) but how many can claim to have barbecue pits attached to its City Hall. For Lexington that’s exactly the case, as barbecue pits were uncovered earlier this year during renovations to City Hall. Sarah Delia of WFAE in Charlotte weaves barbecue, government, and history all into a fantastic report for the Gravy podcast.

The pits belonged to Beck’s Barbecue, an important branch in the Lexington barbecue tree. Alton Beck originally bought the pits from Sid Weaver, a founding father of Lexington-style barbecue and believed to be the first man to make a living off barbecue in the city. Beck was also friends and neighbors with Warner Stamey, who introduced hush puppies to barbecue. Warner’s son Charles (whose son Chip now runs Stamey’s in Greensboro) recalls going to Beck’s as a kid in an interview in the podcast.

The city of Lexington is moving forward with preserving the pits and incorporating them into the design of their new office space with the help of an architecture firm from Charlotte, Shook Kelley. Which I am happy to see, because NC has a trend of moving away from its history (see: the number of gas burning barbecue restaurants, even in Lexington). As John Shelton Reed (co-author of Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue and co-founder of True Cue) notes in the podcast, “I’m not actually sure we [North Carolinians] are all that interested in the history of it…we are [mostly] interested in the food.” Thankfully, in this case North Carolina is taking an important step in not only preserving but also showcasing its barbecue heritage. Hopefully its the start of a trend in the right direction.

–Monk