TV Restaurants

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

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 3 Memphis, Tennessee

Current status

Open

As of October 2026, Tom's Bar-B-Q is open — confirmed via tomsbarbeque.com, September 8, 2026.

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. How we decide a status →

What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate? 3 episodes

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 3, Episode 1

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.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 19, Episode 15 Aired

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.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 3, Episode 9 Aired

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.

The episodes Best Thing I Ever Ate

Episode 1
Air date not confirmed
Title: Grilled · What was featured: hickory-smoked rib tips and pit-cooked barbecue
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 19, Episode 15
Aired
Title: Grilling Greats · What was featured: Rib tips cut from the pork loin
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 3, Episode 9
Aired
Title: The Memphis BBQ Tour · What was featured: slow-smoked halal and pork barbecue, rib tips, brisket, pulled pork

Also in Season 3 Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season 3: 63 of 93 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 3 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 4087 New Getwell Rd

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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 6 references

  1. southernfoodways.org https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/toms-bar-b-q-and-deli/
  2. memphismagazine.com https://memphismagazine.com/food/classic-dining_1/
  3. flavortownusa.com https://www.flavortownusa.com/locations/111/toms-bar-b-q
  4. dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com https://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/toms-bar-b-q-tennessee.html
  5. tomsbarbeque.com https://tomsbarbeque.com/
  6. wknofm.org https://www.wknofm.org/news-and-features/2019-08-09/toms-barbecue-where-the-flavor-is-memphis-and-the-meat-is-halal
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Record ddd-0109 · checked by Cal Marchetti.