TV Restaurants

Is Tom's Bar-B-Q Still Open? Best Thing I Ever Ate Update (Memphis, TN)

Open verified

As of September 2026, Tom's Bar-B-Q is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 8, 2026.

Primary source
tomsbarbeque.com ·
Secondary source
wknofm.org ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Tom's own website (checked 2026-09-08, ChowNow ordering widget, current hours) and a 2019-08-09 WKNO FM feature confirm Tom's Bar-B-Q & Deli still operates at 4087 New Getwell Rd under owner Adam Itayem, who bought it in 1995.

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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Tom's Bar-B-Q & Deli is the Memphis barbecue restaurant founded by Tom Stergios and sold in 1995 to Adam Itayem, known for hickory-smoked rib tips cooked over an open pit — a fit for the show's 'Grilled' episode (S3E1) — and previously featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in January 2009, according to Flavortown USA. The restaurant has operated at its current Whitehaven-area location since 1982, according to Memphis magazine and the Southern Foodways Alliance. This appearance is treated as the same business already catalogued as ddd-0109 rather than a separate restaurant record; the packet's osm_photon match (Payne's Bar-B-Q on Lamar Avenue) was a different, unrelated Memphis barbecue restaurant.

On the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode 'Grilling Greats' (aired 2014-06-21), Guy Fieri returned to Tom's Bar-B-Q on New Getwell Road in Memphis. According to DinersDriveInsDivesLocations.com, Fieri highlighted the restaurant's rib tips, an unusual cut trimmed from the pork loin rather than the spare rib, giving the meat a softer texture. Tom's Bar-B-Q has been owned by Adam Itayem since 1995 and is known for slow-smoked meats and a house barbecue sauce. The 'Grilling Greats' segment placed the rib tips alongside the restaurant's other smoked offerings as part of the episode's grilling theme.

On Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode 'The Memphis BBQ Tour' (aired 2008-05-26), Guy Fieri visited Tom's Bar-B-Q & Deli, a barbecue restaurant and deli near Memphis International Airport known for slow-smoked pork ribs, rib tips, brisket, and pulled pork alongside house-made sweet tea. The building dates to 1950 as a grocery store and gas station; Tom Stergios opened Tom's Barbecue and Deli there in 1982, and Adam Itayem bought the business in 1995. WKNO FM reported on 2019-08-09 that Itayem, a Palestinian Muslim-American, had added halal-prepared barbecue alongside the original pork menu while keeping the restaurant at 4087 New Getwell Rd. Tom's own website, tomsbarbeque.com, lists current hours of Monday-Saturday 10:30am-6pm with online ordering through ChowNow, and states the restaurant placed third in Guy Fieri's DDD live showcase at the 2024 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, a result also covered by CBS News.

Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season / episode
Season 3, Episode 1
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Grilled
What was featured
hickory-smoked rib tips and pit-cooked barbecue
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Tom's Bar-B-Q
Season / episode
Season 19, Episode 15
Original air date
Episode title
Grilling Greats
What was featured
Rib tips cut from the pork loin
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Tom's Bar-B-Q
Season / episode
Season 3, Episode 9
Original air date
Episode title
The Memphis BBQ Tour
What was featured
slow-smoked halal and pork barbecue, rib tips, brisket, pulled pork
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Tom's Bar-B-Q

Frequently asked questions

Is Tom's Bar-B-Q still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Tom's Bar-B-Q is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 8, 2026.

What happened to Tom's Bar-B-Q after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

Tom's Bar-B-Q & Deli is the Memphis barbecue restaurant founded by Tom Stergios and sold in 1995 to Adam Itayem, known for hickory-smoked rib tips cooked over an open pit — a fit for the show's 'Grilled' episode (S3E1) — and previously featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in January 2009, according to Flavortown USA. As of September 2026, Tom's Bar-B-Q is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 8, 2026.

Where is Tom's Bar-B-Q located?

4087 New Getwell Rd, Memphis, TN 38118. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Tom's Bar-B-Q?

Season 3, Episode 1 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “Grilled”.

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.

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Visit info

Address
4087 New Getwell Rd, Memphis, TN 38118
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
tomsbarbeque.com

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Record ddd-0109 · last verified .