Is Paynes BBQ Still Open? Best Thing I Ever Ate Update (Memphis, TN)

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 3, Episode 12

The episode centered on Payne's chopped pork barbecue sandwich, piled on white bread and topped with a tangy mustard-based slaw, cooked low and slow in a pit built into a converted gas station on Lamar Avenue. Payne's is a family-run barbecue restaurant that opened in 1972 and is today operated by siblings Ron Payne and Candice Payne-Parker, according to Memphis magazine. A Yelp listing updated in August 2026 shows the restaurant's current hours: closed Monday, open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, and closed Sunday, with the same listing giving the address as 1762 Lamar Avenue, Memphis, and a phone number of (901) 272-1523. No ownership change, relocation, or closure of the Lamar Avenue location has been reported by either source.

You Gotta Eat Here!, Season 4, Episode 26 Aired July 24, 2015

This Season 4 episode of You Gotta Eat Here!, titled "Starving Artist, Jasper Brewing Company Brewpub & Eatery, Payne's Bar-B-Que," aired 2015-07-24. According to TVmaze's episode listing, host John Catucci ate barbecue sandwiches in Memphis during the segment. Payne's Bar-B-Que sits at 1762 Lamar Avenue in a small white-painted cement-block shop, according to Memphis magazine (2020-09-22). Memphis magazine reported that Horton and Flora Payne opened the business in 1972, a few blocks from where it stands now, and that it has occupied its current building since 1976.

The Southern Foodways Alliance's 2002 oral history by Joe York says the site was once a garage for an Exxon station and quotes Flora Payne. Memphis magazine's 2020 article described the slaw as a mustard-based family recipe and reported that Ron Payne ran the restaurant with his sister, Candice Payne-Parker, while Flora Payne still came in every day.