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Big Daddy’s Old Fashioned Barbecue will close its current location on University Avenue after March of 2020. What comes next remains unclear. There is hope that the 30-year-old low and slow institution will find a new location to rebuild. The current location is slated to be demolished and redeveloped to create affordable housing along with commercial and office space.
While Big Daddy’s has been invited to open in the new construction, the restaurant’s owner is concerned that the closure could last over a year. Being out of work for that length of time isn’t feasible to the owner or the restaurant’s employees.
The Neighborhood Development Center has a longtime relationship with Big Daddy’s and is working to assist in a solution.
Big Daddy’s began in a parking lot, founded by childhood friends from Arkansas Ron Whyte, Bob Edmond along with friend and Georgia native, Gene Sampson. Fans would line up and the meat would often sell out on this Saturday event. Operations moved from the parking lot, to a sit-down restaurant, back to a parking lot, and eventually to the current location. In 2017 the founders sold the business to longtime lead cook Manuel Tacuri. Tacuri maintains all the original recipes.
