The Pit's Closing is... the Pits

A 1969 Journal Ad

Thanks to a comment left on this blog by an anonymous reader a few days ago, I got to enjoy one last meal from The Pit on Saturday night. I had no idea that the beloved, iconic Vermilion restaurant was closing for good at the end of the day on Sunday. 

With all of the Pit's loyal customers stopping in for a final meal and heartfelt goodbye, it wasn't easy getting in my order. I had the honor of picking up the next-to-last takeout order on the next-to-last day of business, late Saturday night, several hours after the restaurant had closed. It was a pulled pork sandwich worth waiting for.

As I live just a few minutes walk from the Pit, it has been a favorite ritual of mine to take friends there for a memorable meal. The Texas Bradys ate there, and were able to compare the Pit's fare to what they were used to back home. And just about all of my Ohio State buddies enjoyed a ceremonial dinner there as well over the last few years.

I'm happy that the Pit's owners are looking forward to retirement and enjoying life. I've heard that the wheels are in motion for a new culinary endeavor at that location; I hope it happens. But for now, the Pit and its gracious hosts (and fine barbecue) will be greatly missed.

The dining rooms were deserted when I picked up my takeout late Saturday night

A view of the original counter area before the restaurant was enlarged

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In addition to being my favorite restaurant, the Pit has been a favorite topic on this blog. Click here to visit all the past posts, including a four-part history of it that included an interview with the son of one of the original owners.

Happy Birthday to The Pit!

In a couple of days, it will be New Year’s Eve. If that’s not exciting enough, it will also be the birthday of The Pit!

Yes, it was back on December 31, 1968 that the barbecue restaurant founded by Mr. and Mrs. Neil Pinkley and Mr. and Mrs. Noah Tedford at 3909 Liberty Avenue opened. Above is the ad that ran in the Journal on December 28, 1970 – fifty years ago today – observing the second birthday of the restaurant.

The ad is interesting to me because it features a great photo of the restaurant (before it was enlarged) and sign, circa 1970. What’s surprising is that the barbecued spare ribs (available in whole slab or half-slab) were only a recent addition to the menu. 

I also recently found the ad announcing the Pit's one-year birthday (below). It ran in the Journal on December 30, 1969. I wonder what the gifts were for the kiddies – pint-sized jars of barbecue sauce?

I wrote a four-part blog series about the history of the Pit which included an interview with Steve Pinkley, son of the co-founders of the restaurant. (You can read it by clicking here and scrolling down to the bottom to Part 1.)

Anyway, here’s wishing the great people at Your Pit BBQ (the current name of the restaurant) a Happy 52nd Birthday! (I started the party early by carrying out a delicious pulled-pork sandwich on Sunday.)

The Pit – Part 4

The Pit as it looks today.

Like many restaurants, the Pit eventually changed hands a few times.

As Steve Pinkley explained, the business was sold to a long-time employee and it became an Italian restaurant. However, it did not last long.

During this turbulent time period, the Pinkleys actually got the business back. Twice.

The current menu

Today, however, the Pit has had new owners since 2011. The Pinkleys still own the building, and the hope is that the three new owners will eventually purchase the building as well.

The current name of the restaurant is Your Pit BBQ.

The new ownership has reinvigorated the restaurant menu, introducing a variety of popular and creative new items.

Its Wiley Burger most recently was awarded ‘Best Overall Burger’ in the Annual Lorain County Burger Battle sponsored by Visit Lorain County.

But of course, the barbecue items remain as menu mainstays.

And to come full circle, last year the Pinkley family introduced Pinkley’s Memphis-Style BBQ Sauce. Featuring a photo of Neil and Alma Pinkley on the label, the bottled vinegar-based sauce was briefly available locally at Your Pit BBQ before quickly selling out.

But you can request it as your choice of sauce at the restaurant on your BBQ sandwich or entree.

Special thanks to Steve Pinkley for sharing his memories of his parents’ restaurant with me. My apology for the long delay in publishing this post.

The Pit – Part 3

Vintage photo of the Pit
(Courtesy of Your Pit BBQ)

Change came to the Pit restaurant fairly early in its history.

“About a year into it, Mr. Tedford decided it wasn’t for him, “ explained Steve Pinkley. "So Mom and Dad bought their portion out.”

Steve has many great memories of his parents running the Pit. One was the creative way in which his father drummed up business for the restaurant.

As Steve recalls, his father would take him and they would walk down the line at the Ford plant, visiting his friends. Just seeing him (“Pinky” to his friends) would remind them to stop in at the Pit if they hadn’t for a while. “They’ll come eat here tomorrow,” his father would say.

Another funny memory involved his mother and the monthly ritual of paying the bills. 

“My mom was such an organizer,” laughed Steve. As he explained, a bill would be stuck on a nail on the wall until it was paid. They would grab a bill off the wall to pay it.

Mrs. Pinkley was particular about sorting and counting the money in preparation for deposit in the bank. “I had the job of doing that,” said Steve. His mother wanted it all nicely organized for the bank.

One time, when Steve was just a boy, he saw the big pile of money that was being counted and said to his mother, “We’re rich!”

Then his mother had to explain that first all those bills hanging on the wall had to be paid, as well as the employees. Then they could keep whatever was left after that.

Steve remembered how well his parents treated the employees. “My Mom and Dad were amazing owners,” he said. "Employees would stay for 10 to 12 years. They kept them for a long time.

“It was really a family,” said Steve.

Many things contributed to that family atmosphere. There were Christmas parties, and the Pinkleys would even treat their staff to a day at Cedar Point on a Wednesday.

Why Wednesday?

That was the day that the Pit was closed. You see, the Pinkleys originally wanted to close the restaurant on Sunday to honor the Sabbath. But as Steve noted, “People want to eat out.” So the decision was made to remain open on Sunday but be closed on Wednesday, which was a Baptist Church day. So Wednesday became the day that they would clean the restaurant.

Vintage Pit flyer drawn by Steve Pinkley

Christmas was special at the Pit. That’s because since the age of 16, Steve began selling Christmas trees behind the restaurant with his mother. “I did that for 40 years,’ said Steve.

Steve’s parents had a big influence on him. “It was an honor to work with my Mom and Dad,” admitted Steve. “I loved those lessons. 'Use your gifts,' they would say.”

Those gifts and lessons learned would help Steve with his own endeavors in the hospitality business later, which included a grocery store and a restaurant.

Next: The rest of the story

The Pit – Part 2

Advertisements for the Pit became a familiar sight to readers of the Journal in the restaurant’s early days.

In addition to the original ad above, which ran in the Journal on March 3, 1969, special feature articles ran regularly in the newspaper’s local advertising section. Today, these articles help fill in a little background history of the restaurant.

This March 3, 1969 ad (below) article points out that the restaurant actually opened for business on the last day of 1968. The photo also provides a nice view of how the restaurant looked before it was remodeled over the years.

Here’s one from April 14, 1969 that reveal some of the Pit’s special preparation of its meat. As Mrs. Pinkley explains in the article, “the only way to obtain this special taste is the way we do it here – we barbecue all our meat from 10 to 12 hours over hickory smoke."

This alliterative article from the May 26, 1969 Journal demonstrates just how much of a family affair the Pit was, showing members of the Tedford and Pinkley families at work.

And here’s roughly the same article, without the photo. This ran in the Journal on June 30, 1969.

Here's an ad (below) that ran in the Vermilion Photojournal on May 21, 1970.

The Pit also benefited from ads in the Lorain Phone Book yellow pages. Here’s the ad from the 1969 edition of the directory.

Here’s the 1971 ad.

Next: More of Steve Pinkley’s reminisces

The Pit – Part 1

The Pit restaurant has been a Lorain County landmark on U. S. Route 6 in Vermilion since its founding in 1969.

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.

"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.

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