Joe's Barbecue is owned by Terri Nobles Edmund and Carol Nobles Ward and is located off of Hwy 130 at 500 Green Hill Drive, Whiteville, North Carolina. Joe's Barbecue offers dine-in, takeout and catering services.
It's probably safe to say when Joe and Dorothy Hyatt purchased P & T Barbecue on September 16, 1964, they had no idea the impact they would have on Columbus County. Papa Joe and Mama Dot changed the name to Joe's Barbecue Kitchen and developed a business that would capture the heart of family and friends alike.
The little restaurant would seat 58 people and if you needed to visit the restrooms, you would have to go behind the restaurant to the outhouses. Barbecue had been served in the small building for years, but Papa Joe changed the barbecue sauce Mr. N.A. Bennett had developed into something a little milder to suit the taste buds of more diners. He and Mama Dot also added ribs and chicken to the menu.
Papa Joe and Mama Dot along with their children Mike, Chris and Davey ran the business from the small building for 17 years. In April of 1981, they built a new building behind the "old kitchen", which was torn down. The new building which many of us remember was located at 1702 South Madison Street, Whiteville, NC. Papa Joe had increased the number of diners they could serve threefold. The Hyatt family would operate in this facility for 27 years.
As time marched on Papa Joe and Mama Dot's son Mike and his family would continue to work at the restaurant. Mike married Mary in December of 1985. Their children, Mikey, Scott, Jonathan, Terri, and Carol grew up in the restaurant.
The family worked together with Papa Joe and Mama Dot daily until they retired in 1991. Papa Joe came in every day and would help make desserts or just check on everyone and was often seen sitting at "his" table until his health begin to fail. Papa Joe passed away in January 2005 and Mama Dot in August 2010. Their influence is still evident in the restaurant today. They instilled an unshakeable work and customer service ethic in their family. They are missed and remembered by so many.
In 1998, Mike built a banquet hall at 500 Green Hill Drive, Whiteville, NC. The Joe's Barbecue staff would work at the restaurant and show up with smiles to welcome participants of many different types of events. The banquet hall served as a warehouse and processing center for Joe's Barbecue. The family had spread their base in offering delicious food to different areas. They had satellite restaurants in several Time Savers, Sam's Pit Stop, the Apache Campground in Myrtle Beach, a restaurant in Shallotte and Lake Waccamaw.
Mikey cooked the barbecue in the kitchen at the Banquet Hall and made sure it was distributed properly. The Hyatt family would continue in this fashion for 13 years. The family and staff would pull double duty to keep everything operating smoothly; while continuing to offer the best customer service.
In 2008 with NCDOT making a traffic pattern change that would decrease parking at the Madison Street location by one-third, Mike and his family decided to close the restaurant there and move everything to the Banquet Hall. The move would allow them to seat approximately 200 diners. This move would close the outlying restaurants, suspend the large banquet facilities and take Joe's Barbecue to a location tucked away behind Lowe's and Black's Tire Service's distribution center.
The family served their diners until closing on a Wednesday evening and moved the remaining items from the restaurant and opened at the Green Hill Drive location on a rainy Thursday morning. Mike asked the question, "What if they don't come?" He did not need to worry, his diners found the restaurant with no problem. After all, we were not going to miss the southern charm and good food offered by him and his family.
Mike and Mary owned the restaurant until June 2017, they wanted time to relax and of course, Mike needed more time to explore his favorite "fishing holes". Mike, like his dad after retirement, continues to be a welcoming face to diners. He checks in often and can be found talking with his dining family.
Terri and Carol became the third generation to own the restaurant. Terri began working in the kitchen on the weekends as a sixteen-year-old and continued to work there through college.
Carol worked in the restaurant through high school and when she graduated college she would return and learn the restaurant from the back of the house to the front.
Terri taught for seven years and realized she wanted to come back to the restaurant and a working partnership with her sister. The partnership is a great one! The family still stands strong in support of each other. Terri and Bill's sons, Jake and Will grew up in the restaurant along with Carol and Kris' sons Wes and Evan.
We spoke of the changes that have taken place in the restaurant. For approximately four years Joe's Barbeque offered a buffet on Sunday. They were only open for three hours and their diners flooded the dine-in only buffet each Sunday. As Terri and Carol were talking with Mike and Mary in preparation to become the third generation to operate the restaurant; the buffet was discussed. While they loved greeting their diners, the three hours open translated into a full day for staff. The seven-day week was stealing their joy. The family did not leave service to their employees on Sunday, they were unwilling to ask them to do something they did not want to do. After much discussion and prayer, they made the decision to discontinue the Sunday buffet. Again, their diners supported them. They simply came in Monday through Saturday.
We all realize change and adapting have become a necessary part of the landscape, especially through the pandemic. Joe's Barbeque closed their dining room and offered a two-lane drive-thru off of the side of their building. It worked. Terri, Carol and their staff continue to adapt. Their dining room is open Monday - Friday 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. The changes to their hours are two-fold; staffing and supplies. Despite all the changes and challenges the staff processes, prepares and serves 1,800 to 2,000 pounds of pork butts and shoulder each week!
When asked about the hardest part of owning a restaurant, we learned it was the worry over taking care of your employees. Their employee's family's well-being is often in their hands and it can be hard. But they must be doing a good job. Brenda Walters, Marcella Faulk, Heidi Jones, and Lottie Gause have all been with the Hyatt family for over twenty years, not to mention the other long-term employees. The pandemic has taught them that the quality of time can be more important than quantity.
We also asked about the best part of owning a restaurant. Terri shared it was the God Winks. She told us this story. A gentleman had found Joe's Barbeque in 2014 on a trip into town to purchase tractor parts. He returned with his wife Heather who was a nurse in Conway. On their visits, they would have conversations with Mike and enjoy a meal. He lost his wife 30 months ago to cancer. He returned to Joe's a couple of days ago. He gave Terri a note dated March 14, 2020, which was the first time he was going to come back to eat since his wife's death. But then the pandemic hit, he had kept the note in his vehicle for 14 months. He just wanted to tell them that the service, the atmosphere and the food were his wife's favorite. They would drive 32 miles one way to eat with them. He told them they would never know the impact they had on people and he was not talking about just food, but the friendly faces and attitude. He pointed out they did not know each other by name and introduced himself as John. Names are not a necessity to form ties of friendship and feeling valued. Terri shared many stories about their dining family, some filled with laughter and a few with tears. She said the God Winks continue to remind them, they're in the right place
While Terri and Carol have a large blended personal family full of love and support, they also have a work family, community family and those who travel miles to eat with them. They value each member of their family and realize the importance of treating people with kindness and respect. They along with their staff have enjoyed welcoming diners back to Joe's Barbeque and look forward to a future filled with the old and new family.
Terri, Carol and their staff believe in the guidelines set by Papa Joe and Mama Dot. They prepare and serve the very best food and give the very best customer service and it's delivered true southern style. And as you know Joe's Barbecue is: "Good as the best, better than the rest and just a little bit habit forming!"
If you haven't eaten the delicious food and experienced the southern charm, you should!
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