Hog Rock stokes barbecue feud in North Carolina

Nation's Restaurant News, May 27, 1991 by Jack Hayes

LEXINGTON, N.C. -- The chopped pork sandwich, a classic on barbecue counters across the South, is a hot, new menu weapon in this city, which claims more pig shoulders per capita are munched here than anywhere else in the nation.

At the same time pricing has also become a crucial tactic as Lexington's barbecue independents take on their newest competitor, the Hog Rock Cafe, a contemporary concept serving rock-and-roll ambience and alcoholic beverages with traditional-recipe pit-cooked pork.

"They'll walk out of your restaurant for a nickel here," said Dan Stamey, who broke Lexington tradition seven months ago with his neon-trimmed Hog Rock Cafe. The new Hog Rock was spun off from his original restaurant, Stamey's BBQ, in nearby Tyro, N.C., which began operating in 1974. Stamey's father was a barbecue cook in the 1940s and had taught his family "pit-cooking" -- a method by which pork and other meats are roasted slowly over hickory coals in a closed smoking oven.

By local definition, the chopped pork sandwich is made from diced, smoked pork shoulder -- not to be confused with stringy-textured "pulled pork," which is removed by hand from the smoked joints after cooking. Furthermore, the Lexington barbecue sauce is vinegar-based with a ketchup flavoring. In other parts of North Carolina and in other regions of the South, barbecue flavoring varies in the proportion of vinegar, tomato and spices that are used.

But Hog Rock Cafe, which competes with several dozen old-time pit-cooking giants like Smokey Joe's, Speedy's and Lexington Barbecue, is trying to sidestep a one-item price war by menuing a wider range of specialty items, including the $4.50 Super Hog Burger and a $3.95 BBQ Salad.

"I've got more menu variety than the others," claimed Stamey, who introduced Lexington to 4-ounce pork Hog Dogs. Hog Rock's menu features six sandwiches, including a chicken breast at $2.25, five sandwich platters, five specialty platters, like Spicey Hot Wings at $3.95, and four salads.

"There's more to a barbecue restaurant than picnic benches," observed Stamey, whose restaurant is one of the few here serving steaks and specialty platters, including barbecued ribs, as well as sliced and chopped pork sandwiches.

His tongue-in-cheek tribute to rock and roll -- with its obvious nod to the Hard Rock Cafe concept -- is also considered to be a draw. Stamey hangs up original, hog-nosed caricatures of Elvis, the Beatles and Chuck Berry.

"We're trying to build a theme around it," said Stamey, who said he does $600,000 a year at Stamey's Barbecue and now hopes for $1 million at Hog Rock Cafe. "I've never understood why you have to sit on a picnic bench to eat barbecue," he added, comparing Hog Rock with its competition. "Why be plain Jane?"

Being the the only barbecue operator in Lexington with a pouring license is another point he says is in his favor. Beverage sales in restaurants are legal now -- the result of a local ordinance that won by just 102 votes recently. But most of Lexington drinks iced tea with barbecue.

But aside from rock-and-roll decor and beer served in long-neck bottles, Stamey has still found that he has to price his chopped barbecue sandwich at $1.85 to make it move in this city of 17,000 -- a price that is still seen as being a bit on the high side when one considers the same sandwich at Smokey Joe's and Speedy's sells for $1.60 and for $1.80 at Lexington Barbecue. "The range is $1.60 to $2, but the challenge is $1.85," Stamey said.

Claiming more pit-cooked barbecue gets served here than in any other part of the country, operators in the Lexington area, which includes Davidson County, buy 100,000 pounds of pork shoulder a week, according to one North Carolina meat supplier. In annualized terms, total barbecue consumption in the Lexington area is estimated at 5 million pounds.

Lexington Barbecue -- considered by many the biggest-volume barbecue operator here--sells 6,000 pounds to 7,000 pounds during its six-day week, said proprietor Ricky Monk. The 27-year-old restaurant is known for catering the 1983 World Economic Summit in Williamsburg, Va., at the request of former President Reagan.

"Customers driving down Interstate 85 say they lose control of their cars when they catch the barbecue aroma," said Wayne Monk, Lexington's founder, who was praised for his barbecue savvy by Craig Claiborne.

"I'm a retired trucker, and I've been all over the country but I've never seen another barbecue town like this," said Lexington native Roy Smalley. The city throws a barbecue festival each October, and the draw is about 75,000, he added.

But nearby Guilford and Rowan counties also boast legendary barbecue operations, such as Kepley's, in High Point, and The Big Pig, in Salisbury.

Kepley's, 15 miles northwest, began as a drive-in in 1948. The restaurant cooks 40 shoulders a day except during April and October, when home-furnishings buyers flock into the area for the national furniture markets. Then the count is 100 a day, according to Bob Burleson, a partner in the operation.