JAMESTOWN, N.C. — Black Powder Smokehouse owner Keith Henning said this was a lifelong dream that finally came to fruition. Being a chef for most of his life, he always dreamed of opening a restaurant and doing things his way. Partnering with longtime friend, Ryan Herring, the two opened the barbecue joint right in the center of Jamestown.
Back in the day, Hughes Oil, was an iconic filling station and it’s been standing abandoned for years since it closed in the 1990s.
“Finally after looking at multiple opportunities, I think we’ve found something that’s going to be very good for the town,” shared Will Ragsdale, property owner with Ragsdale Brothers, LLC.
“It’s kind of one of those ‘Why not this spot?’ because it’s such a great location, it’s the first thing you see when you come into Jamestown, it’s been here, there’s history,” said co-owner Keith Henning.
“People started asking us to do catering and I’ve been a chef for 22 years so it was just kind of the normal progression,” he added.
Herring explained that preserving history has been part of their business starting with their name honoring the former rifle industry of the town.
“The name that we chose for our company, Black Powder Smokehouse, goes back to the days when Jamestown was making the long rifles here in town,” Herring explained.
The smokehouse specializes in barbecue and brisket with the latter being the big seller.
You can check out their menu on their website.