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BBQ expert Bob Garner now working for
Empire Eats, The Pit
Submitted by amweigl on 09/26/2011 - 13:03
Tags: Mouthful | Bob Garner | Ed Mitchell | Empire Eats | The Pit
About the blogger
Andrea Weigl has been the food
writer at The News & Observer
since the summer of 2007. She has
won a handful of awards from the
Association of Food Journalists and
the Society of Features Journalism.
Her profile of chef Ashley
Christensen titled "A Force of
Nature" will be published in the
sixth edition of "Cornbread Nation:
The Best of Southern Food Writing."
She is serving a three-year term on
the James Beard Foundation book
awards committee. Follow her on
Photo by Staff photographer Corey Lowenstein
Bob Garner, (pictured above) the North Carolina barbecue expert, is now working for Empire Eats, a local
restaurant chain that owns The Pit, a popular barbecue restaurant in downtown Raleigh.
Garner, 64, is the author of two North Carolina barbecue books: "North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time"
and "Bob Garner's Guide to North Carolina Barbeque." A longtime fan of the state's barbecue traditions, Garner
became known for his 'cue know-how based on his work on UNC-TV's North Carolina Weekend show. Garner
would travel the state, filming segments about restaurants and eventually produced an hour-long show about
the state's favorite food tradition.
Twitter at @andreaweigl.
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"He is kind of the spokesperson of North Carolina barbecue," says Greg Hatem, a downtown developer and
owner of the Empire Eats restaurant group. "..That's such an important mission of what The Pit is supposed to
be."
Hatem opened The Pit five years ago with famous eastern North Carolina pitmaster Ed Mitchell. But Hatem and
Mitchell parted ways earlier this year. (To see my earlier blog post about Ed Mitchell leaving The Pit, go HERE.
No word yet on Mitchell's new venture.)
Hatem plans to open a second location of The Pit in Durham although the exact location is unknown at the
moment. He denied reports that the restaurant will be located at 309 E. Chapel Hill St. Hatem owns that
building and placed a sign teasing the Pit coming to Durham but says that's not the restaurant's future location.
Garner's job for Empire Eats will be broad. Garner says he and Hatem have joked about what his title should
be: "barbecue-ologist" or "curator of the traditional food committment." Both say Garner will consult on the
menu, help source food, help train the staff, write cookbooks and continue to lead a series of barbecue heritage
dinners at The Pit. Plus, Garner will produce a series of videos about the heritage dinners and the group's
restaurants. (To see one of Garner's videos of a recent heritage dinner, go HERE.)
Garner says he will continue to work parttime for UNC-TV, producing food and restaurant segments for North
Carolina Weekend. Plus, he says, he is writing a new book that combines and updates the material in her
previous two books. It will be called "Bob Garner's Book of Barbecue" and will be published this spring, Garner
says.
(Note: I had a story last year about Garner having gastric-bypass surgery and continuing his life as a food
expert and eater. Go HERE to read the story.)
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