So much has happened concerning the appreciation of
Scott’s Bar-B-Que in
Hemingway, SC, since
I visited four years ago. It still occupies the old variety store in a town of fewer than 600 residents. The business begun by Roosevelt Scott, when he was 30, continues the family tradition of cooking whole hogs and serving the area’s favorite pork barbecue sauced with peppery vinegar.
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| A new sign was added after my visit in 2014. |
However, Scott’s son, Rodney, has gone on to fame and fortune far beyond that ever imagined by his parents. This second-generation pitmaster has branched out from his family’s business in rural South Carolina and launched
his own eponymous restaurant in busy downtown Charleston, only 80 miles away.
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| Scott's Bar-B-Que is now a certified heritage site. |
The contrast between the two locations couldn’t be greater. Because I
had just visited Rodney Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Charleston, I wanted to see what changes had been made in Hemingway at the family business. Fortunately for me, the only significant changes were a marker designating the store as
a certified heritage site in eastern South Carolina and a new metal structure that encloses the pits.
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| The relationship of Scott's Bar-B-Que to South Carolina barbecue culture and the four regional sauces (or "mops") is explained in a new sign by the pits. |
A simple menu board still hangs above the serving windows, the menu is as limited as ever, the lineup of customers wanting to take home their next meals never ends, and the whiff of smoked barbecue permeates the country variety store as before.
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| Although a menu board is above the serving window, most customers know what they want to order before they enter. |
When I ordered a barbecue dinner to go, I was pleased to see that it is still served in a Styrofoam clamshell and comes with sliced white bread. I also appreciated coleslaw and baked beans as sides with the barbecue; however, the expansion of sides to the level of
Rodney’s restaurant in Charleston clearly hasn’t been considered even with all of the success in the big city.
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| My plate of pulled pork (and sauce in the lower left corner) came with coleslaw and beans in a Styrofoam clamshell. |
After son Rodney has been profiled in national publications such as
Time magazine and
The New York Times and received the award as
Best Chef: Southeast from the prestigious
James Beard Foundation, it’s reassuring that the family business continues with few changes, unaffected by all the glitter and publicity. The residents of Hemingway would be shocked if Scott’s Bar-B-Que wasn’t still preparing and serving barbecue like it has for the past four decades, and the out-of-town visitors would be disappointed if the trip back to nostalgia ever ended.
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| A new metal structure now encloses the pit area. |
Note: This post fittingly is the 100th
one that I have added to this blog. The barbecue journey that I’ve been on
couldn’t have timed a better return to Hemingway, SC, to appreciate the work and
legacy of the Scott family.
