(Clockwise from far left) Rodney Scott in his family’s pit room in Hemingway, South Carolina; Poogan’s Smokehouse on East Bay Street; a picnic tableful at Martin’s on James Island; & Home Team BBQ’s downtown patio.
During the first two decades of the 21st century, a new style of barbecue restaurant flourished in Charleston. The spark began in 2006, when Aaron Siegel and Taylor Garrigan—veterans of downtown fine dining kitchens—opened Home Team BBQ on Highway 61 in West Ashley. Another fine dining vet, Anthony DiBernardo opened the first Swig & Swine on Savannah Highway in 2013.
Within a few years, the Holy City was in a full-on barbecue boom. John Lewis, who manned the pits at Franklin Barbecue and the La Barbecue in Austin, Texas, introduced Charlestonians to his state’s trinity of brisket, ribs, and sausage when he opened Lewis Barbecue on Nassau Street in 2016, literally around the corner from Home Team BBQ’s then-new third location on Williman. Pee Dee-style whole hog landed on the scene shortly after, when Rodney Scott brought his family’s acclaimed burn-barrel style of cooking from the small South Carolina town of Hemingway to a new restaurant on King Street.
In 2016, Washington Post barbecue columnist Jim Shahin visited the city and wrote a glowing profile that opened, “I’ve seen the future of barbecue, and it is Charleston.” Shahin pointed to several elements that foretold that direction. Ambitious pitmasters, many of whom were classically trained chefs, who were “rejecting the mimicry common in other barbecue hot spots” and “experimenting based on the regional low-country cuisine.” The result was upscale, chef-inspired barbecue that had a respect for the old traditions (cooking on wood-fired pits, for instance) but didn’t feel bound by them. Charleston has been a must-visit barbecue destination ever since.
Home Team BBQ
1205 Ashley River Rd., West Ashley
126 Williman St., Charleston
2209 Middle St., Sullivan’s Island
3563 N. Hwy. 17, Mount Pleasant
hometeambbq.com
Lewis Barbecue
464 N. Nassau St.
lewisbarbecue.com
Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint
1622 Highland Ave., James Island
martinsbbqjoint.com
Poogan’s Smokehouse
188 E. Bay St.
pooganssmokehouse.com
Rodney Scott’s BBQ
1011 King St.
rodneyscottsbbq.com
Swig & Swine
1217 Savannah Hwy., West Ashley
2379 Hwy. 41, Mount Pleasant
1990 Old Trolley Rd., Summerville
swigandswinebbq.com
