Historic NC barbecue joint Wilber’s reopens, passing its whole hog torch to new owners
Pandemic or not, one of the most storied spots in the North Carolina barbecue is back in business.
Wilber’s Barbecue reopened Wednesday for take-out, serving up whole hog barbecue in the historic Goldsboro restaurant for the first time in more than a year.
The restaurant is takeout-only for now, serving Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The limited menu hits the highlights, with whole hog barbecue, bbq chicken and sides like coleslaw, potato salad and hush puppies. Later, Wilber’s will expand the menu and bring back favorites like fried chicken, barbecued turkey and sausages.
In spring 2019, Wilber’s closed under a sizable tax debt. Barbecue fans across the state feared North Carolina had lost another of its beloved barbecue institutions.
Months before, decades-old barbecue icons Allen & Son in Chapel Hill and Bill’s Barbecue in Wilson closed for good, leaving a dwindling few of North Carolina’s traditional pits still smoking pork.
That loss motivated Goldsboro businessman Willis Underwood to form Goldpit Partners, a group of Wilber’s fans, to purchase the restaurant last year.
“We’re going to do our best to bring Wilber’s back to its best,” Underwood said in an interview last year. “The closing of Bill’s and Allen & Son, that was the catalyst that brought us together. Wilber’s is part of the fabric of Wayne County and has been since it opened. It has a storied history and was always known as the best barbecue place around.”
Wilber’s opened in 1962, and its namesake owner, Wilberdean Shirley, turned 90 just last month.
“I’m proud to know that Wilber’s will not disappear, and that Willis Underwood, my son-in-law, Dennis Monk, and many of the men who have made careers out of cooking hogs in those pits, will be here to help guide it into the future,” Shirley said in a news release. “Our method of cooking whole hogs over hardwood coals overnight is not easy or cheap, but it is the right way, and something we as a community take a lot of pride in.”
According to bankruptcy filings, Goldpit bought Wilber’s for $350,000 in a sale that closed last fall. The company has spent months restoring the restaurant’s pits and smoking a few hogs.
Goldpit’s partners all grew up in and around Goldsboro, Underwood said, but some are now living in New York, Pennsylvania, Raleigh, Mississippi and elsewhere. Underwood said they all fondly remember the taste of Wilber’s barbecue, which drove the project.
“This has been a labor of love, and an opportunity to save this legendary institution that lives large in all of our memories,” Underwood said in a news release. “But we also needed to infuse new capital and energy into it so we can preserve and continue the very best Eastern North Carolina barbecue tradition, and make sure this time-tested formula thrives into the future.”
Underwood said Wilber’s hopes to reopen its dining room soon, but will stick with takeout for the near future. For more information, or to place an order, call the restaurant at 919-778-5218 or visit www.wilbersbbq.com.
Wilber’s Barbecue is located at 4172 U.S. 70 in Goldsboro.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Historic NC barbecue joint Wilber’s reopens, passing its whole hog torch to new owners."
