What Happened to Barbecue King Drive-In After Best Thing I Ever Ate?
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 6 Charlotte, North Carolina Closed November 2025
Current status
As of October 2026, Barbecue King Drive-In has closed — confirmed via tastingtable.com, October 22, 2025.
What the source shows: Tasting Table reported, citing WCNC, that owner Gus Karapanos confirmed on 2025-10-22 the restaurant would close on November 1, 2025 due to a property sale; a Yelp listing for the business was separately updated in May 2026 marking it permanently closed. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 6, Episode 1
- Address 2900 Wilkinson Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28208
- Website No current website found
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 6, Episode 1
Bar-B-Q King Drive-In Restaurant appeared on "Best Thing I Ever Ate," in the "All American" episode, which featured the Wilkinson Boulevard drive-in's carhop service, order-matic menu boards, and trays delivered curbside on articulated arms, alongside its fried chicken, seafood, and trademark onion rings. The drive-in served customers since 1959 and was run by Omega Foods, Inc., partners Charlie Psomadakis and Jack Law, according to Roadfood. Pork barbecue and fried chicken were signature orders, and phone-ahead pickup packed in the drive-in's cardboard boxes became a customer trademark. The restaurant drew national attention when Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" featured it in 2007. After 66 years in business, Bar-B-Q King closed on November 1, 2025, with a bank branch planned for the site, according to Country 103.7.
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 1, Episode 5 Aired
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Bar-B-Q King, filmed here as 'Barbecue King Drive-In,' in the 'BBQ' episode (S1E5), aired 2007-05-28, spotlighting the restaurant's vinegar-based Carolina barbecue and its drive-in ordering, where customers ordered through a menu speaker box and food was brought out to their cars. The family-owned restaurant opened in 1959 at 2900 Wilkinson Blvd on Charlotte's west side. Tasting Table reported on 2025-10-22, citing WCNC, that owner Gus Karapanos confirmed the restaurant would close on November 1, 2025, citing a recent sale of the property after his more than 40 years running the drive-in. A Yelp listing for the business was separately updated in May 2026 marking it permanently closed.
The episodes
Also in Season 6
Season 6: 33 of 43 still open
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Ep 1Chez Francois
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Ep 1Happy Dog
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- Open
- Closed
- Open
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Ep 2Cafe Beignet
Open
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Relocated
Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- roadfood.com https://roadfood.com/restaurants/bar-b-q-king
- country1037fm.com https://country1037fm.com/2025/10/21/historic-bar-b-q-king-to-close-after-66-years-ending-an-era-in-charlotte/
- tastingtable.com https://www.tastingtable.com/2004912/north-carolina-bar-b-q-king-restaurant-closure-guy-fieri-favorite/
- Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-b-q-king-charlotte
- wcnc.com https://www.wcnc.com/article/life/food/charlottes-bar-b-q-king-will-close-doors/275-b00d624c-27a1-4d06-ab43-010a6fae9eb2
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record ddd-0015 · checked by Cal Marchetti.