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Whole Hog Cafe brings championship taste

Quote:A Little Rock restaurant is bringing its Memphis in May championship barbecue to the Bluff City.

Whole Hog Cafe will open its first restaurant here at 5727 Quince in May. It will be the first of 3-5 Whole Hog Cafes that partners Bran McCarty and Lewis May plan to open in the Memphis area. They are already scouting the Germantown Parkway and Collierville areas for a second site, which they hope to open in the third or fourth quarter of this year.

The partners are the restaurant's licensees for Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. McCarty says their goal is to open 12 restaurants over the next four years. They are looking at locations in Nashville, Birmingham and Jackson, Miss., but wanted to come to Memphis first.

"If you want to know how good your product is, you go to the place that is known for its barbecue," says director of operations Allan Harrison. "If we can compete and be successful in Memphis, we can go anywhere."

The original Whole Hog Cafe opened at 2516 Cantrell Road in Little Rock in August 2000. Ron Blasingame founded the restaurant with partners Mike 'Sarge' Davis and Steve Lucchi.

Since 1999, the three men have competed in barbecue cookoffs across the country as the Southern Gentlemen's Culinary Society. They have won more than 100 awards, including First Place Whole Hog in the 2002 Memphis in May World Championship.

It was a neighborhood service station owner that first convinced Blasingame to sell his barbecue. The team set up in the station lot, and found their cooking drew long lines and $1,000 in sales daily. Despite having no experience, the trio decided to try their hands at the restaurant business.

"We decided we would cook every day as if our customers were Memphis in May judges," Blasingame says.

Since it opened, Whole Hog Cafe has expanded from 3,200 to 8,000 square feet. A second location opened in Bentonville, Ark., last year.

McCarty, retired after 20 years in financial services, and May, owner of May Construction Co., were looking for a business venture together and approached Blasingame about taking Whole Hog to Tennessee.

5727 Quince is by Yorkshire Liquor just west of 240.
Is it just me, or is that a odd location for a new restaurant?
Crini Wrote:Is it just me, or is that a odd location for a new restaurant?

I thought so, too. But that's within a mile and a half of my house making it the closest BBQ joint to my house. If they're any good I may just find a 2nd home.
Since being introduced to Bar-b-q Shop on madision, I've had some long drives ! !! lmfao

Then there's always The Commissary and Corky's...still hard to beat.

Rendezvous, only a memory from the past. ;-)

These guys coming to Memphis is almost as funny as Tony Romas -"Famous For Ribs", coming here. I saw the publicity for it ... but it never happened. At least, if they ever did happen, I don't know where the h - -- they are!!

There's lots of goooooooood competition here. At least, they're aware of it ! lmfao
The more BBQ, the better.
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