Longtime DeKalb County BBQ restaurant closing after 25 years

(Source: WAFF)
Updated: Oct. 19, 2018 at 2:42 PM CDT
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FYFFE, AL (WAFF) - Residents are saddened a popular barbeque restaurant in DeKalb County is closing after 25 years in business.

Cars will park at Barry's Barbeque in Fyffe well before they open.

“We love it here. It’s good barbeque. It’s good barbeque. We’ve been coming for years, and years, and years,” said customer Ellen Snow.

But after 25 years that's all about to end.

“We eat out here three or four days every week. We’re going to miss it too!” said Barry Owens, owner of Barry’s BBQ.

Barry Owens is ready to settle down and is selling his business he started years ago when he lost his chicken farm.

“Palm Sunday ’94 we had a tornado here and it leveled everything we had,” said Owens.

But instead of putting his restaurant in town, Barry chose just to put it behind his house out in the country in the middle of nowhere. Needless to say his biggest critics told him it would never work.

“About four or five years later he came back and apologized to me and said, well Barry I’m sorry, he said. He said, you made this thing work," said Owens.

In 1999 Barry expanded the restaurant and started a wholesale business which his sons will continue. The business will continue but with new owners in another county.

“It will be under my name. We’re going to help this get started. We’re going to give them all of our recipes. We’re going to give them a good start and I hope they do well,” said Owens.

Barry says he’ll miss his customers the most about closing the business. But don’t worry, at age 72 he’ll still have something to do.

“You see what’s sitting out in the front yard, don’t you? That boat. I’m going to fish all the time which I do anyway. Fish and hunt,” said Owens.

The restaurant will open with it’s new owners off Highway 431 in Sardis City in Etowah County around the first of the year.

Barry’s last day open will be Saturday October 27th.

Copyright 2018 WAFF. All rights reserved.