Southern Living magazine included the family-owned restaurant in the listing of “The South's Best Barbecue Joint In Every State”, representing the Sunshine State in this year’s installment of its annual, reader-driven ranking.
“Big John’s is new to the South’s Best list but it’s hardly new to the Tampa Bay area…it still features splendid chicken, sausage, and ribs cooked hot and fast on an Alabama-style open pit with a giant brick chimney,” the magazine writes.
In addition to its classic barbecued meats, Big John's—located at 5707 N 40th St. —is also known for Southern sides like mac and cheese, collard greens, roasted corn, potato salad and baked beans.
Southern Living states that the readers that compiled 2024’s list were drawn to more “tried-and-true,” old-school BBQ joints versus contemporary, newly-opened restaurants.
“Notably, many of the new winners this year are quite a bit older than the restaurants they replaced from last year’s poll,” Southern Living writes in its introduction. “If my math is correct, the 15 institutions on the 2024 list represent more than 500 total years of serving top-notch Southern barbecue to hungry diners.”
According to the BBQ restaurant’s social media, Southern Living magazine awarded Big John’s this same accolade in 2021.
The history of Big John's Alabama BBQ dates back to 1968 when the late Rev. John A. “Big John” Stephens debuted his laid-back restaurant in East Tampa. After his passing in the mid-90’s, his wife, kids and now grandchildren continued his culinary legacy and open pit-style barbequing techniques.
In 2010, the popular spot moved to a new location in East Tampa, but classics like pork sausages, slabs of ribs and barbecued chicken have been on its menu for decades.
Big John's Alabama BBQ is open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Sunday and is closed each Sunday.
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