Our Story
When Johnny Carter Jr. started Carter's Bar-B-Que take-out nine years ago in a to-go trailer on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland, he stuck to two things: ribs and chicken. Once the business became a success, he moved into a red, concrete-block house along State Road 60 in Mulberry and turned the carport into a drive-through.
The menu has grown since those early days to include soul food staples such as fried okra, oxtail, lima beans, collard greens and sweet potato pie. But he stays close to the rib foundation. If you want them, he serves rib tips, a rib slab, a thin-end rib, large ribs, small ribs, and ribs and chicken.
The key, he says, is freshness and consistency. "We make everything from scratch just like Grand Ma used to do."
His signature yellow barbecue sauce, a family recipe from his days growing up in Albany, Ga., also lures hungry diners. It's so popular that we now sell it in bottles.
"We've shipped it everywhere," he says. "We have people from Japan who call and ask us to send them some."