Sam Jones BBQ for Eater Carolinas | Forrest Mason Media

COVID-19 brought forth silver linings for the barbecue joint

After a couple of years in the making, Sam Jones BBQ is officially open for dine-in and to-go in downtown Raleigh. Jones is a third-generation pitmaster who spent his teenage years working at Skylight Inn, in Ayden, North Carolina — one of the country’s most iconic barbecue institutions, opened by Jones’ grandfather, Pete, in 1947. From country to city, Jones enters the scene of a city barbecue revolution amidst a pandemic.

The Raleigh location, which boasts an identical menu to its flagship in Greenville, North Carolina, worked out several kinks with a soft opening for to-go only in early February. Jones notes that permits were put in late 2018, with plans to open in late 2019. If on schedule, he notes, the restaurant would have taken a gut punch. “They