It was sad to drive by Your Pit BBQ (or “The Pit” as it was known for many years) a few days ago and see the sign board announcing the passing of Mr. Neil Pinkley.
I interviewed Steve Pinkley in preparation for a four part series on The Pit that I wrote back last year, and he told me how his father Neil got the inspiration for the restaurant.
Steve had explained that his parents were from Memphis, Tennessee. Neil, 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 up here, however, they discovered that there were no Southern BBQ restaurants. “You oughta open up a barbecue,” was something that Neil heard many times from his friends.
So Neil Pinkley and his friend, Noah Tedford, decided to do just that.
And there are a lot of people (including me) that are sure glad he did.
My condolences to Steve and the entire Pinkley family.
My family is also from Memphis and my Dad worked at the Lorain Ford Plant with Mr. Pinkley. We lived two houses down from the Pinkley's and I went to school with Steve and graduated with him from Vermilion High in 1977. Having The Pit in Vermilion was such a treat for us as we knew what real bar-b-que was and they certainly had it. Both of Steve's parents were such fine people. They were always so kind and thoughtful. My sincere condolences to Steve, his two sisters and their families.
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