Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ

Did You Know?

• The restaurant can seat close to 128 diners.
• Scott uses MSG, which he calls a flavor maker, in his spice rub.
• Other menu items include fried catfish, a rib eye steak sandwich, spare ribs, and banana pudding.

History

Rodney Scott came from Nesmith, South Carolina. His parents, Roosevelt and Ella, raised hogs and started Scott's Variety Store and Bar-B-Q near Hemingway around 1972. Scott took over the business completely in 2011, then teamed up with restaurateur Nick Pihakis to grow it. Their new venture, Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ, opened in February 2017 in a building that used to be Chick’s Fry House. In 2020, Scott and his restaurant appeared on the third episode of Netflix's Chef's Table BBQ. After that episode aired, the restaurant broke its own sales records for three straight days, and customers waited up to an hour in line. By early May 2026, reports said the business was dealing with lawsuits and liens, and all its locations would close temporarily.

Reception

Rodney Scott's whole hog barbecue earned him the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef Southeast award in May 2018. Two years later, he became a semi-finalist for the Barbecue Hall of Fame. Food and Wine's Maria Yagoda named his restaurant one of the 40 most important of the past four decades. Texas Monthly's Daniel Vaughn declared Scott an undeniable master of the pit. Eater's Bill Addison praised the restaurant's uniquely wonderful spirit but noted its barbecue could be inconsistent. Charleston Magazine's Allston McCrady called the rib eye sandwich superior to any Philly cheesesteak she had tried. The Post and Courier's Hanna Raskin found the food slightly less satisfying than what Scott's family serves in Hemingway.