Sam Jones BBQ

Sam Jones BBQ has a Raleigh restaurant on West Lenoir Street, cooking whole hogs over real hickory wood on site. The hogs are chopped and served daily, following the principles of traditional Eastern North Carolina barbecue.

The family history behind it runs deep. Sam’s grandfather, the late Pete Jones, opened the legendary Skylight Inn in 1947 at the age of 17, and that restaurant became a standard for the style. Sam Jones BBQ opened its own doors in 2015 and has now marked ten years of its own.

What to know

• There are restaurants in Winterville and in Raleigh.
• National Geographic’s 1979 book Back Roads America called the Skylight Inn some of the best barbecue in the country.
• Pete Jones was invited to serve his barbecue at a congressional bowl in 1982.
• Southern Living named Sam one of the top 10 pitmasters in the South.
• A rewards program builds credit with every dollar customers spend.