While many national and regional BBQ restaurants have come and gone, the Pit has found a long-lasting recipe for success. It continues to serve up its genuine Southern barbecue year after year, in addition to award-winning new favorites.
To find out about the early history of the restaurant, I spoke by phone with Steve Pinkley, son of Neil Pinkley, one of the founders of the Pit.
Steve explained that his parents were from Memphis, Tennessee. His father, a Ford worker, transferred here to work at the new Lorain Assembly Plant on Baumhart Road, along with several other workers from that area.
When they got here, as Steve noted, they discovered that there were no Southern BBQ restaurants. “You oughta open a barbecue,” was the refrain that Neil heard many times from his friends.
So Neil Pinkley and a good friend, Noah Tedford, decided to do just that in 1969.
Now, as Steve Pinkley explained to me, Southern Barbecue is unique. “They smoke the meat first. The BBQ sauce is vinegar-based. And they put cole slaw on the sandwich!”
In preparation for opening the restaurant, Steve noted that his father “went home to Tennessee and trained at the Three Little Pigs Barbecue for a few weeks.”
What about the building that would become the home of the Pit?
“It was a car wash when they bought it,” said Steve. “There were big doors in front and on the sides. A big garage door was where the front dining room is today.
A stained, vintage photo of the restaurant building from its car wash days (below) hangs in the foyer of the restaurant today.
Quite a difference from the how the enlarged building looks today.
The Pit officially opened for business in early 1969.
At the beginning, the barbecuing was done indoors. “The smoker was originally inside the restaurant,” said Steve. “The brick chimney was the original pit.
“Bu the drippings from the pork would catch on fire and it became a safety issue." By 1980, the pit was moved to the outside. They just cut a hole in the back of the building for access.
The new rotisserie-style pit came from Mesquite, Texas. "It can do 1,000 pounds of meat at one time,” said Steve.
As for the restaurant dining area, Steve notes that originally there was just counter service, where people sat on stools. “The whole thing was open,” he said. "There were just the two pillars."
Next: Promoting the Pit
To find out about the early history of the restaurant, I spoke by phone with Steve Pinkley, son of Neil Pinkley, one of the founders of the Pit.
Steve explained that his parents were from Memphis, Tennessee. His father, a Ford worker, transferred here to work at the new Lorain Assembly Plant on Baumhart Road, along with several other workers from that area.
When they got here, as Steve noted, they discovered that there were no Southern BBQ restaurants. “You oughta open a barbecue,” was the refrain that Neil heard many times from his friends.
So Neil Pinkley and a good friend, Noah Tedford, decided to do just that in 1969.
Now, as Steve Pinkley explained to me, Southern Barbecue is unique. “They smoke the meat first. The BBQ sauce is vinegar-based. And they put cole slaw on the sandwich!”
In preparation for opening the restaurant, Steve noted that his father “went home to Tennessee and trained at the Three Little Pigs Barbecue for a few weeks.”
What about the building that would become the home of the Pit?
“It was a car wash when they bought it,” said Steve. “There were big doors in front and on the sides. A big garage door was where the front dining room is today.
"There were big fluorescent lights hanging there so they could see to wash the cars.” Steve says if you look in the corner of the dining room ceiling today, you can still see some of the angle left over from the lights.
A stained, vintage photo of the restaurant building from its car wash days (below) hangs in the foyer of the restaurant today.
At the beginning, the barbecuing was done indoors. “The smoker was originally inside the restaurant,” said Steve. “The brick chimney was the original pit.
“Bu the drippings from the pork would catch on fire and it became a safety issue." By 1980, the pit was moved to the outside. They just cut a hole in the back of the building for access.
The new rotisserie-style pit came from Mesquite, Texas. "It can do 1,000 pounds of meat at one time,” said Steve.
As for the restaurant dining area, Steve notes that originally there was just counter service, where people sat on stools. “The whole thing was open,” he said. "There were just the two pillars."
Next: Promoting the Pit
4 comments:
Although we didn't eat there very often as I'm not a big BBQ fan, I have very fond memories of getting our Christmas trees from here every year. It's been some time since they sold trees, but I seem to remember the folks selling the trees saying they came from Tennessee every Christmas season to sell the trees. Maybe they were the same family or friends of the original owners.
Hey Dan - I remember the first time I ate at The Pit I was surprised that the sandwiches came with the slaw ON the sandwich. It tasted good but I thought it was a little odd at the time. Now that I live in Nashville and have had BBQ all over the state I wouldn't eat it any other way...especially with a little spicy sauce either vinegar or tomato based...it's all good! I think I'll have BBQ for lunch today. Thanks for the memory. Todd
Great post, Dan! I often drive by it, and it's a great place to dine. Thanks for sharing some of the history of The Pit. I think we'll get BBQ this week sometime!
Thanks for the comments, hope these posts drum up some business for the Pit. Great food and really nice people. I live close enough to the Pit that I can walk (or waddle) there, so it takes great restraint not to eat there several times a week!
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