Joseph “Big Joe” Bessinger (above left) started serving mustard-based ’cue in Holly Hill in 1939; his sons opened multiple Piggie Park Drive-Ins in Charleston; (Right) Melvin Bessinger (circa 1961) started Melvin’s Barbecue in 1982.
Before World War II, Charlestonians could eat barbecue sandwiches at downtown lunch counters like Pete’s Sandwich Shop and OK Barbecue or at a few informal barbecue stands along Savannah Highway and what was then called the North Charleston Highway (today’s Rivers Avenue.) But Charleston really didn’t have a barbecue identity of its own.
Two families named Bessinger and Dukes from Orangeburg County helped change that after the war, when they brought Midlands-style barbecue down to the Lowcountry. That meant pork—sometimes whole hogs, sometimes shoulders—chopped and dressed in a mustard-based sauce with hash and rice on the side. Many of the restaurants from that era are long gone, but Bessinger’s, Melvin’s, and Robert’s—all founded by sons of patriarch Joe Bessinger—and the Dukes outpost on James Island are still plugging away here in the 21st century.
(Left to right) Robert’s Bar B Que on Ashley Phosphate Road; Dukes Barbecue.
Bessinger’s Barbecue
1602 Savannah Hwy., West Ashley
bessingersbbq.com
Melvin’s Barbecue
925 Houston Northcutt Blvd., Mount Pleasant
538 Folly Rd., James Island
melvinsbbq.com
Dukes Barbecue
331 Folly Rd., James Island
Robert’s Bar B Que
5120 Ashley Phosphate Rd., North Charleston
robertsbarbque.com
