What Lexington Barbecue does

Lexington Barbecue is a single-location, family-owned barbecue restaurant operating since 1962 at 100 Smokehouse Lane in Lexington, North Carolina, beside US Highway 29/70. Founded by Wayne Monk — who trained under Warner Stamey — it is currently operated by Wayne Monk and Rick Monk, and is locally known as the "Honeymonk" or "The Monk." The restaurant serves pork barbecue cooked slowly over oak and hickory coals for approximately nine hours, salt-seasoned but not basted, paired with a tomato ketchup-based sauce and slaw in the Lexington-style tradition. It is described as a nationally known destination for authentic Western-style Carolina BBQ.

The core product is the restaurant itself, offering dine-in seating, curb-side service, and carry-out. The menu spans plates (chopped, sliced, coarse chopped BBQ; barbecue, smoked turkey, fried chicken, and shrimp plates), trays, sandwiches, sides (French fries, hush puppies, onion rings, barbecue beans, salads), drinks, and desserts. Catering is offered for events via phone or the EZ-Cater third-party platform, providing food, drinks, and paper goods only. A retail merchandise line — Lexington Barbecue Sauce (16 oz. mild dip), Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce (5 oz. hot & tangy), and a combo — is sold online and shipped nationwide within the USA.

Revenue is generated through direct dine-in restaurant sales, carry-out by the pound, catering services, and online sauce/merchandise sales. Pricing is unit-based with a separate cash and card price tier (cards incur a small premium). The operation runs Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with seasonal closures. Marketing is primarily word-of-mouth and the official website; no external investors, no parent company, and no formal legal entity structure are disclosed.

Name

Lexington Barbecue

Legal name

Lexington Barbecue

Website

https://lexbbq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lexington Barbecue is a family-owned, single-location restaurant in Lexington, NC, founded in 1962 by Wayne Monk. It serves traditional Western-style Carolina pork barbecue cooked over oak and hickory coals, with dine-in, carry-out, catering, and nationwide online sauce sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Barbecue Restaurant Services

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)

Keywords

• Barbecue restaurant services
• Carolina pork barbecue
• Wood-fired barbecue cooking
• Event catering services
• Barbecue sauce retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-In Restaurant Sales: Revenue from serving food and beverages to customers dining in the restaurant at 100 Smokehouse Lane, Lexington NC. Offers full menu including BBQ plates, trays, sandwiches, side orders, drinks, and desserts.
2. Carry-Out and Takeout Sales: Special carry-out orders including bulk BBQ by the pound, sauces, slaw, buns, and hush puppies. Any menu item can be prepared for carryout.
3. Catering Services: Catering services for events providing food, drinks, and paper goods. Orders placed via phone or through EZ-Cater online platform.
4. Merchandise Sales: Online sales of barbecue sauces (Lexington Barbecue Sauce, Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce) and merchandise shipped nationwide within the USA.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Lexington Barbecue runs a single-location, family-owned restaurant in Lexington, North Carolina serving authentic Western-style Carolina pork barbecue. Pork shoulders are cooked slowly for approximately nine hours over oak and hickory coals, salted (not basted), and served as plates, trays, sandwiches, and sides alongside a proprietary ketchup-based sauce and slaw. The business also offers off-site catering (via phone and EZ-Cater) and sells branded barbecue sauces and merchandise online for nationwide shipping.

Product overview

Lexington Barbecue is a traditional barbecue restaurant operating since 1962, offering a single unified dining experience centered on authentic Western-style Carolina pork barbecue cooked over oak and hickory coals. The core product is the restaurant itself, serving pork shoulders for nearly half a day to create their signature barbecue. The product portfolio includes restaurant dine-in and curb services, catering services (available via phone or EZ-cater online platform), and retail merchandise consisting of sauces and combo packs available for nationwide shipping. The merchandise line comprises three items: Lexington Barbecue Sauce (mild dip, 16 oz.), Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce (hot & tangy, 5 oz.), and a Barbecue Sauce Combo package bundling both sauces together.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lexington Barbecue Restaurant Service Traditional dine-in restaurant service at 100 Smokehouse Lane, Lexington NC serving authentic Western-style Carolina pork barbecue cooked over oak and hickory coals. Includes curb-side service for in-car pickup and full table-service dining.
• Carry-Out and Bulk Orders by the Pound Carry-out service for any menu item, including bulk BBQ by the pound (chopped, sliced, turkey, whole shoulder), sauces, slaw, buns, and hush puppies for off-premises consumption.
• Event Catering Services Off-site catering for events providing food, drinks, and paper goods, ordered via phone or through the EZ-Cater online platform.
• Lexington Barbecue Sauce Lexington Barbecue Sauce 'Dip' Mild, 16 fluid oz bottle, tomato-ketchup-based sweet barbecue sauce following the Lexington-style tradition; sold online for nationwide shipping.
• Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce, Hot & Tangy, 5 fluid oz bottle, suitable for barbecue chicken, chops, beans, and more; sold online for nationwide shipping.
• Barbecue Sauce Combo Combo package containing one bottle of Lexington Barbecue Sauce and one bottle of Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce; retail price $7.40, sold online for nationwide shipping.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EZ-CaterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party catering platform used by Lexington Barbecue for online catering order placement. Customers can visit ezcater.com to order catering services for events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Mission BBQ: Fast-growing BBQ chain serving smoked pork, brisket and ribs with strong catering and a national multi-unit footprint; a broader incumbent peer that competes for BBQ catering customers and packaged sauce retail.
• Sonny's BBQ: Large franchised BBQ chain specializing in slow-smoked pork and Southern sides with dine-in, catering and to-go channels; a broad incumbent peer competing with Lexington Barbecue for BBQ catering and dine-in occasions in the Southeast.
• Famous Dave's: National BBQ restaurant chain offering dine-in, catering, franchising and packaged retail sauces; comparable as a broader BBQ platform that competes for the same catering and consumer sauce occasions as Lexington Barbecue.

Direct peers

• Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que: Kansas City BBQ institution operating from a gas station with national brand recognition, multiple locations, catering and retail sauces; comparable as a heritage BBQ brand that successfully translated a single-location reputation into multi-channel revenue.
• Martin Bar-B-Que Joint: North Carolina-based BBQ restaurant group serving wood-smoked pork BBQ with a Lexington-style tradition; a direct peer competing in NC with dine-in, carry-out and catering models similar to Lexington Barbecue.
• Allen & Son Bar-B-Que: Family-run, decades-old North Carolina BBQ restaurant serving wood-smoked pork shoulder with a vinegar/tomato-based sauce profile; comparable as a small, heritage NC BBQ destination competing for similar regional diners and tourists.
• Skylight Inn BBQ: Long-standing North Carolina wood-fired pork BBQ restaurant in Ayden, NC; directly comparable as an authentic, single-location Eastern-style pit BBQ destination with decades of heritage and a tight menu built on whole-hog/shoulder pork.
• Franklin Barbecue: Austin, Texas landmark wood-smoked brisket and pork BBQ restaurant famous for its queue-driven, single-location model and national media profile; directly comparable as a destination BBQ brand built on a single authentic pit method.
• Lexington BBQ #2: Another well-known Lexington-style pork shoulder BBQ restaurant operating in Lexington, NC; competes directly for the same local diners, tourists and catering business using an overlapping wood-fired, ketchup-based slaw tradition.
• 12 Bones Smokehouse: Iconic Asheville, NC wood-fired BBQ restaurant known for smoked pork, platters, sides and a national reputation; a closely comparable regional BBQ destination with dine-in and carry-out channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lexington-barbecue

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lexington Barbecue