TV Restaurants

Is Skylight Inn Still Open? Food Paradise Update (Ayden, NC)

Open verified

As of September 2026, Skylight Inn is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 2026.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
skylightinnbbq.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Yelp listing for the Ayden, NC location, updated in September 2026, shows the restaurant active with 279 reviews and currently accepting reservations.

  • Season / episode Season 4, Episode 3
  • Original air date
  • Address 4618 S Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513
  • Current name Skylight Inn BBQ

Interactive map — loads when you ask for it.

Everything on this map is also in the list below.

© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO

What happened after Food Paradise?

Food Paradise's "Barbecue Paradise 2: Another Rack" (2012, season 4) featured Skylight Inn BBQ's whole-hog barbecue technique, cooked over wood coals and hand-chopped for its sandwiches. According to Wikipedia (revised 2026-03-15), Skylight Inn BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Ayden, North Carolina, founded by Pete Jones in 1947 and known for specializing in whole-hog barbecue. On 2026-09-08, the skylightinnbbq.com website advertised nationwide shipping via Goldbelly under the tagline "Since 1947," indicating the business continues operating under the same name at its Ayden, North Carolina location.

Skylight Inn BBQ is a whole-hog, hickory-smoked barbecue restaurant in Ayden, North Carolina, known for its finely chopped pork served with a vinegar-based sauce and topped with crackling skin, plus barbecue chicken, slaw, and cornbread. According to Wikipedia (revised 2026-03-15), the restaurant was founded by Pete Jones in 1947 and is topped with a replica of the U.S. Capitol dome; the Jones family — son Bruce, nephew Jeff, and grandson Sam — still runs the pits.

The business has kept operating in the years since. A Yelp listing updated in September 2026 showed the restaurant with 279 reviews and noted it was then accepting reservations at its 4618 S. Lee Street location. The restaurant's own website, skylightinnbbq.com, remained live as of a 2026-09-08 check and continued to advertise nationwide shipping of its barbecue through Goldbelly.

Featured on Food Paradise

Season / episode
Season 4, Episode 3
Original air date
Episode title
Barbecue Paradise 2: Another Rack
What was featured
Whole hog barbecue and hand-chopped pork sandwiches
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Skylight Inn
Season / episode
Season 4, Episode 24
Original air date
Episode title
—
What was featured
Eastern North Carolina whole-hog barbecue tradition
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Skylight Inn

Frequently asked questions

Is Skylight Inn still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Skylight Inn is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 2026.

What happened to Skylight Inn after Food Paradise?

Food Paradise's "Barbecue Paradise 2: Another Rack" (2012, season 4) featured Skylight Inn BBQ's whole-hog barbecue technique, cooked over wood coals and hand-chopped for its sandwiches. As of September 2026, Skylight Inn is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 2026.

What is Skylight Inn called now?

Now: Skylight Inn BBQ (formerly Skylight Inn). As of September 2026, Skylight Inn is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 2026.

Where is Skylight Inn located?

4618 S Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Food Paradise featured Skylight Inn?

Season 4, Episode 3 of Food Paradise, first aired 2012. The episode is titled “Barbecue Paradise 2: Another Rack”.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

More from Food Paradise

Every Food Paradise restaurant we track

Other TV restaurants in North Carolina

All North Carolina locations

Nearest tracked restaurants

Visit info

Address
4618 S Lee St, Ayden, NC 28513
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
skylightinnbbq.com

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

See something wrong?

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.

See something wrong? Tell us →

Share this page

Record mvf-266 · last verified .