The Low & Slow Barbecue Show

08/30/2026

🔥 Blue Suede BBQ is heading to Pinehurst Barbecue Festival in ONE week!

🇺🇸 Veteran pitmaster Chris Loschiavo updates us on BBQ life after the Army, building a food-truck business, serving his community and what’s coming!

📰 The big news? Chris is cooking at the Pinehurst Barbecue Feetival’s Pitmaster Invitational!

🎟️Get your tickets today to enjoy food from a world-class chef line-up Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4-6.

🎙️ In this episode, Chris dishes on:

🚚 The realities of running a food truck
🇫🇷 Exhibiting at Barbecue Expo 2026
🌎 Going global with his sauces & rubs
❤️ Giving back through holiday turkeys & hams for ALS families
🙏 The mission & faith that drives him

🔥 And his Pinehurst menu: smoked beef ribs + Cajun dirty rice + Blue Suede mustard sauce.

Chris joins an incredible lineup of pitmasters at the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival Pitmaster Invitational on Sunday, Sept 6. Come hungry. Come early. And get ready for some serious barbecue.

🎧 Listen to the Carolina BBQ Festival Local Barbecue Summer episode and hear Chris tell the story in his own words. Link in comments.

08/20/2026

Programming note: heavy helpings of live pigskin action is joining your BBQ podcast listening lineup.

Friday Night Football is back!

Week 1 will feature a match-up between the Alexander Central Cougars and the Newton-Conover Red Devils at Gurley Stadium.

Plus, we'll have score updates/reports from other Week 1 games throughout the Hickory Metro and beyond.

Join us for all the action as we kick off the 2026 season.

Our live and exclusive coverage will start with pre-game coverage at 6:30. Listen live on Oldies 101.3 FM, Stereo 1230AM or worldwide at wnncradio.com thanks to Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet.

08/17/2026

Chad and Hank are back with stories from a whirlwind stretch of summer travel, from Jacksonville and Oak Island to a reunion with college friends at Lake James. Chad shares vacation adventures with Olivia, some serious beach reading, old college memories, and what it was like reconnecting with friends he hadn’t seen in nearly 30 years.

The guys also talk about their kids heading into another school year, how much back-to-school style has changed, and the excitement of fantasy football season. With their longtime league draft right around the corner, they break down potential first-round picks and revisit some of the funniest moments from more than two decades of draft-day traditions.

08/17/2026

08/14/2026

🔥 Bologna is getting its moment in the barbecue spotlight! 🔥

On the latest Carolina BBQ Festival Local Barbecue Summer episode, we talk with Justin Raymond of Carolina Packers about all things Bright Leaf Hot Dogs! And especially the Bright Leaf BBQ Bologna Championship!

🥩 How do you turn a 3-lb stick of bologna into competition-worthy BBQ?
🏆 What made last year's winning entry stand out?
🔥 Why is smoked bologna exploding across the barbecue world?
🌭 And what's next for Carolina Packers and Bright Leaf?

Plus, Justin shares his favorite ways to dress a hot dog, his classic bologna sandwich, and why legacy, community, and bringing people together around food keep him fired up.

🎧 Give the episode a listen and get inspired to smoke some bologna of your own!

📍 The 2026 BBQ Bologna Championship is September 19 in Selma, NC.

08/10/2026

🔥 What does the state of backyard barbecue really look like?

🎙️ On the latest episode of the Low and Slow Barbecue Show, 7-time World Barbecue Champion Melissa Cookston joins us to talk about what backyard pitmasters are getting right and where there’s room to improve.

🥩 Why confidence doesn’t always equal barbecue competence
🔥 The biggest mistakes backyard cooks make with pork
🌳 How to choose the right wood—and avoid over-smoking
🌡️ Why Melissa wraps based on color, not temperature
🐷 Why pork butt is the perfect gateway to great barbecue
🌎 How international flavors are changing backyard BBQ
👨‍🍳 And how Melissa is helping inspire the next generation of pitmasters

Plus, Melissa shares stories from her incredible competition career, her international barbecue adventures, and what keeps her fire burning today.

Join us for this Carolina BBQ Festival Local Barbecue Summer look at the Prairie Fresh 2026 State of BBQ report and learn how you can fine tune your backyard BBQ game.

🎧 Listen to the full interview and get cooking! Link in comments.

07/24/2026

🎙️ Robert F. Moss shares his insight on the next generation of barbecue legends, the process behind the Top BBQ Lists for Southern Living, his take on the “state of barbecue,” and his ideal barbecue orders.

Carolina BBQ Festival’s Local BBQ Summer continues on The Low & Slow Barbecue Show as we find out about 5 pitmasters shaping the future of Southern barbecue, according to Moss and, importantly, their pitmaster peers.

🔥 Elliott Moss at Elliot’s BBQ Lounge in Florence, SC

🔥 Hector Garate at Palmira BBQ in Charleston, SC

🔥 Lewis Donald at Sweet Lew’s in Charlotte, NC

🔥 Evan LeRoy at LeRoy and Lewis in Austin, TX

🔥 Zach Parker at B.E. Scott’s in Lexington, TN

🎧 Click the podcast link in comments – then join these barbecue icons at Southern Living’s Luncheon with Legends, presented in partnership with the CRVA and Charlotte's got a lot on Sunday, Sept. 20, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at The Hunter Farm in Weddington, NC.

🎟️ There will be tasting stations, fresh oysters, appetizers, desserts, drinks … and only a LIMITED number of tickets available. Buy tickets today when you find complete details at LuncheonwithLegends . com

07/19/2026

Cool new BBQ spot opening this week in Western NC!

07/19/2026

🍖 Butch’s BBQ & Breakfast to Close Permanently After 25 Years in Morganton

Saturday, July 18, 2026

MORGANTON, N.C. — Butch's BBQ & Breakfast will close permanently at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, 2026, the restaurant announced Saturday afternoon in a statement posted to its page.

The announcement was signed by Brian Goldstein, president and chief operating officer of Morganton-based Fulenwider Enterprises Inc., which owns and operates the restaurant at 1234 Burkemont Ave.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Goldstein wrote. The statement did not give a reason for the closure.

Fulenwider said in the announcement that it is committed to placing Butch’s employees in other jobs within the company during the transition. The company did not say how many workers are affected.

The restaurant said it has served the Morganton community since 2001, offering pulled pork, chicken, homemade Southern sides and desserts, along with a breakfast menu and catering.

North Carolina Secretary of State records show Butch’s BBQ, Inc. was registered on Jan. 23, 2001, and previously carried the legal name Uptown Breakfast & Barbeque, Inc. The corporation’s principal office is listed at 104 Mull St. in Morganton — the same address as Fulenwider Enterprises headquarters.

Fulenwider Enterprises traces its own history to a single Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise opened by company founder Verbon Fulenwider in 1965. According to the company, it operated 159 restaurants across six states in 2025 and employs more than 4,000 people. Butch’s has been the company’s only restaurant outside the Yum! Brands franchise system, which includes its KFC and Taco Bell locations.

The Burkemont Avenue location sits on one of Morganton’s busiest commercial corridors near Interstate 40 and Western Piedmont Community College, and the restaurant has long been listed among Burke County’s tourism and chamber of commerce dining stops.

Butch’s is scheduled to operate on its normal schedule through Wednesday evening.

CVNW has reached out to Fulenwider Enterprises for additional comment.

What’s your favorite memory of Butch’s over the past 25 years? ⬇️

Photo: Butch’s BBQ & Breakfast