Local BBQ joint named best in Carolinas

PEACHLAND — Jon G’s Barbecue has several accolades to celebrate this year.

Eater Carolinas named them the 2021 Eater Award for Barbecue Restaurant of the Year. They were featured in Craft City Films’ episode of “Tapped In” with Sugar Creek Brewing. They have also been hosting their Christmas donation drive.

The small-town barbecue spot started out as the owners testing out their recipe and working out of a food trailer, with their Peachland restaurant as a commissary kitchen for cooking and extra space. They then started their Barbecue Saturdays, and the rest is history.

Barbecue spots across the Carolinas compete for the Barbecue Restaurant of the Year award. The Eater Carolinas staff noted the 600-700 pounds of meat gone through every Barbecue Saturday and the famous sides such as grits with jalapenos, Mexican street corn salad, and macaroni and cheese, in selecting Jon G’s for the top spot.

Garren and Kelly Kirkman, who own Jon G’s, said they never knew the person who came out from Eater Carolinas wrote for the website. They just made the barbecue like they always did.

“A friend actually sent us the article last week and we were tickled to see that. It was a shocker,” Kelly said.

There has also been a short film made about their barbecue. Craft City Films asked to do a collaboration with them and Sugar Creek Brewing, combining the best of beer and barbecue.

“I think that they sort of fell in love with what they saw behind the scenes, and we have a great team that helps us out every week. We’re just a small business and a family-run business, and they were kind enough to do that short film for us,” she added. “When they emailed it over, we were just like, ‘wow, that is so awesome.’ It’s really fun to see other people’s perspectives of what we do every week, and so I felt like that was really cool.”

Jon G’s success is a story of the little engine that could, with a small joint yielding big results.

“Man, any accolade whenever, I’m just like ‘holy cow,”’ Garren said. “I literally started in the backyard just playing around — I’m just average as average Joe gets.”

Jon G’s Barbecue is also accepting Christmas donations for those in need. So far, they have been able to raise $1,400 to feed the less fortunate. Other items donated include toys and coats.

“It just breaks your heart to think there’s some kid out there that’s not going to get something for Christmas, and if there’s anything in our power we can do to help out, we want to,” Garren said.

Their donation partners include Wadesboro’s First Presbyterian Church connected with Anson County Schools. Their Christmas Giving Project runs through December 18.