Who doesn’t love some good southern ribs? We have some great places around here, and we’ll start with Aiken. These are local restaurants that have been in the area for a while. Best Ribs In Aiken. We’ll find more around the CSRA and let you know about them soon!
We’ll spotlight three here in no particular order. I would love to hear about more in Aiken if you know of some good places. Here’s Pot Smoker’s story, as told by Bobby Boggs.
Pot Smoker Bar-B-Que
Years ago, my sister Brenda developed her own BBQ sauce. After church on Sundays, she would serve it with pork chops and chicken. It didn’t take long before the entire family fell in love with the savory flavor of her secret homemade BBQ sauce for which she eventually shared the recipe. Along with those memorable meals on Sundays were my mom’s delicious homemade sides. My mom always said there was a secret ingredient she used in every meal she prepared but would never tell me what exactly it was. One day she finally shared with us what the most secret ingredient was, love. Our family’s Sundays always revolved around the four F’s; Faith, Family, Friends and Food, but not necessarily in that order. Here at The Pot Smoker BBQ, we still live by the four F’s and always use that same ole secret ingredient, which is why people love our BBQ.
Duke’s Bar-B-Que
Dukes Bar-B-Que was founded over 45 years ago by Uncle Danny Dukes. The franchise grew and today there are 14 Duke Bar-B-Ques in South Carolina. Rauly and Jan Judy opened their first Dukes restaurant in 1992 in Allendale, SC. Rauly worked as a boilermaker and Jan worked as a hair dresser on the weekdays for the first two years until their restaurant in Allendale was sustainable. They later opened their second location in Aiken in 1996, and eventually made it their primary and only location. In 2015 they retired, their son Christian and his wife Rebecca Judy retained ownership. Christian was 4 years old when his parents opened their first restaurant and has grown up in the family business.