Mac's Speed Shop Set To Open In Raleigh

Pexels/Hayden Walker

I've said this before, but it remains true. I'm a barbeque snob. When you're born and raised in Texas there are two things you know: Mexican food (specifically, Tex-Mex) and barbeque. And to a Texan, barbeque and brisket are two things that go together like peanut butter and jelly. This background info is a must when I tell you that every state in the southeast claims to be home to barbeque savants. They are not. If you don't have brisket on your menu, you're training wheels. Sorry. From that perspective, moving to Charlotte was a Godsend. There are a number of fantastic, brisket barbeque joints here. Near the top of the list? Mac's Speed Shop. And now, Mac's Speed Shop is expanding to North Carolina's capital city.

The original Mac's (founded in 2005 with a "motorcycle theme") is just down the street from our radio station in Charlotte's South End. In addition to their fantastic brisket, you can get ribs, pork, etc. and plenty of fixings and delicious sauce choices to go along.

When it comes to 2023 and Charlotte barbeque expanding to the triangle, this would make it a big year. Midwood Smokehouse also ventured to the area this year. Mac's Speed Shop is set to open in Raleigh in the former Lonerider taproom on Glenwood Avenue perhaps as early as the end of the year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by

What Are the Most Popular Barbecue Restaurants In North Carolina?

If there is one thing you can say about North Carolinians it's that we LOVE our BBQ. There are different styles, different meats of choice, and different sauces. But we do it all well. And no the term barbecue should never refer to the outdoor cooking of hamburgers and hotdogs- that's a cookout for your northerners. There are so many incredible barbeque restaurants in North Carolina, it's hard to say what the best is. And that's honestly a personal preference. Your choice may be different than mine which may be different from your coworker's. But while we can't objectively tell you the best barbecue restaurants in North Carolina, we can tell you the most popular.

Did you know that May is National BBQ Month? It is and in celebration, our friends at BetCarolina used Google Trends to determine the most popular barbecue restaurants in North Carolina. The data used in this analysis is from May 1, 2022-September 6, 2022. And there is a dominant winner that's right here in the Queen City. It's one that many celebrities choose to dine at when visiting Charlotte. And funny enough, when we told you about the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants (per TripAdvisor) last year, it was also the winner. So even with different methods, it's still coming out on top.

Keep reading to see which that is, you'll also find the best Charlotte BBQ Restaurants list at the end of this one. You can read BetCarolina's full study and analysis here.

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

Location: 32 Banks Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Search Volume: 2%

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

Location: 4618 Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513

Search Volume: 3%

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

Location: 9440 NC-226A, Marion, NC 28752

Search Volume: 4%

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

Location: 2000 E Dixon Blvd, Shelby, NC 28150

Search Volume: 8%

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

Location: View all Carolina locations here

Search Volume: 83%

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

Here in North Carolina, we love our barbeque. And we do it well if I may so so myself. There is no shortage of fantastic restaurants across the state and the Queen City is no exception to that. But if you only can eat at one which should you choose? While I have my favorite (and it didn't make this list near the top), I decided to turn to the public for their thoughts on the matter. A quick search on TripAdvisor led me to a list of 30 Charlotte BBQ restaurants. It included chains, multiple locations of some, the heavy hitters, and some I hadn't heard of before. For this list, I took the top 15 restaurants (combining anywhere that had multiple locations).

Trip Advisor compiles these rankings based on average rating and number of reviews. Therefore you will see a couple of places that are ranked higher with a slightly lower rating. This means they probably had a higher number of higher-rated reviews. I have to say for the most part I do agree with this list the top 3 didn't surprise me at all and I feel could have been ranked in any order. What's your favorite of the many Charlotte BBQ restaurants?

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

Address: 1400 S Church St, Charlotte, NC 28203-4114

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviews: 31

Epic Charlotte Based BBQ Joint Expanding Into North Carolina’s Capital City

I’ve said this before, but it remains true. I’m a barbeque snob. When you’re born and raised in Texas there are two things you know: Mexican food (specifically, Tex-Mex) and…

Charlie & Debbie

What Are the Most Popular Barbecue Restaurants In North Carolina?

5. Buxton Hall BBQ (Asheville)

4. Skylight Inn BBQ (Ayden)

3. Switzerland Cafe (Little Switzerland)

2. Red Bridges BBQ (Shelby)

1. Midwood Smokehouse (Charlotte & Raleigh)

The 15 Best Charlotte North Carolina BBQ Restaurants

15. Let's Meat Kbbq

14. Sweet Lew's BBQ

13. Bubba's Barbecue

12. Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q

11. Bill Spoon's Barbecue

10. Bobbee O's BBQ

9. The Q Shack

8. City Barbeque

7. Noble Smoke

6. Bar-b-q King

5. Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

4. Sauceman's

3. Mac's Speed Shop

2. McKoy's Smokehouse and Saloon

1. Midwood Smokehouse

Download our station app