A barbecue place that opens at 7:00 am, and doesn’t sell “breakfast foods”? I’m in. Open for 114 years (Yep – you read that right – one hundred and fourteen years!) and run by the fourth generation of the Jones family, this may be the oldest BBQ spot in the country. Located in a neighborhood, they are not blessed with a large parking lot. The picture below is the restaurant / house – pit out back, carport awning out front and a picnic table that is way wider than it looks.

Inside, there wasn’t much decoration – all that you can’t see of the entire interior are the three tables, a guest book and the backside to the front door. Walking up to the window, Mr James Jones took our order, made our sandwiches (one with slaw and one without) and took our money. All eight dollars and seventy-six cents…

You probably can’t read the menu above the window, on those two printed pages in plastic pouches, but it’s simple:

• Bbq sandwiches;
• Bbq by the pound;
• Bbq by the 1/2 pound;
• Bbq pork shoulder;
• Smoke links (which are not available every day, and were not on this day;
• Slaw – pint;
• Slaw – quart;
• Bbq sauce – half gallon;
• Bbq sauce – gallon;
• Loaf bread;
• Chips and
• Drinks

We sat at the giant picnic table and opened our foil wrapped sandwiches. The vinegar-pepper based sauce had just begin to soak into the bottom piece of white bread and the pork was still hot. The meat was plentiful and smoky and that vinegar-pepper sauce was a perfect mix of its two primary ingredients. This was a simple sandwich and taught me my new adage – “Barbecue. It’s not just for breakfast”.

I did go back in before we left to thank Mr Jones for the glorious sandwich. And to buy another one for the road… And if you were keeping count, this was the fourth barbecue stop in less than twenty hours.