The Stowe-A-Way (Gone)
Concord, NC Photo courtesy Tony Craig
The marquee for The Stowe-A-Way Fish House welcomed seafood lovers along Corban Avenue in Concord, North Carolina. Its changing messages gave passing motorists a reason to check what was on offer, while the restaurant's playful name carried a connection to the man behind the business.
Jim Stowe opened the original Stowe-A-Way in 1964 in a friend's vacant storefront in China Grove. He soon moved the restaurant to Concord, where he operated it for forty-seven years. What began as an opportunity to become his own boss grew into a family business, with his children spending time working in the restaurant as they grew up.
UPDATE: The Stowe-A-Way has closed, and its original roadside marquee has been removed. The restaurant left behind decades of local memories, reaching back to a small China Grove storefront and a young owner's decision to try the seafood business. 08-26
Carey Hilliard's
Savannah, GA Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf
The colorful marquee for Carey Hilliard's brings a little Las Vegas personality to Savannah, Georgia. Flashing lights and oversized lettering were inspired by the founder's visits to the Nevada city, giving his restaurants a roadside identity that stood apart from the other Hilliard family businesses.
Carey and his wife, Kathleen, opened their first restaurant in a former National Root Beer stand on Skidaway Road in 1960. They served forty customers on opening day, beginning a business built around barbecue, seafood, takeout, and curb service. After the couple died in a plane crash in December 1982, their twenty-three-year-old son, Tim, returned to Savannah to lead the company.
UPDATE: The original Skidaway Road restaurant remains open, continuing the curbside tradition Carey kept while other drive-ins switched to drive-through service. The restaurant completed a remodeling in August 2018, carrying its familiar food and roadside welcome into another chapter. 11-26
Bridges Barbecue Lodge
Shelby, NC Photo courtesy Tony Craig
The roadside marquee for Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge announces a longtime barbecue stop along Highway 74 in Shelby, North Carolina. The business began in 1946, when Red and Lyttle Bridges opened Dedmond's Barbecue. It took the Red Bridges name in 1949 and moved to its familiar highway location in 1953. 03-06
Red had served as an Army cook during World War II before returning home to enter the barbecue business. The couple's early operation occupied a former livestock auction facility, a modest beginning for a restaurant whose reputation would spread far beyond Cleveland County. Overnight cooking over hickory became a defining tradition, while Lyttle—known as “Mama B”—also earned a following for her pimento cheese.
UPDATE: Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge remains open, continuing a family tradition now spanning three generations. The familiar marquee still welcomes hungry motorists, marking a restaurant that has called this stretch of highway home for more than seventy years. Good to see the old sign and the slow-cooked barbecue carrying on together. 11-26
Bridges Barbecue Interior
Shelby, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
The Bridges Barbecue in Shelby, NC is home to some real eye-catching neon. With the neon on the roof to the marquee outside, the Bridges can be seen from quite a distance. The photographer catches the essence of discovering this neon.
Than I saw it in the distance, the call of neon in the form of the classic Bridges BBQ sign. For me who is always finding BBQ places when I do not have time to stop or have already eaten the time was right for this one. Stepping inside was a true blast from the past. The place was completely original from the mid 1950's. They had some 1950's postcards on the wall and sure enough, the building, signage and even the neon pig are as they were when the place first opened. The manager (owner?) told me the only noticeable change was the seat coverings that were recently redone but had been brown as per a photograph he pointed out. One thing I can say about the Carolina BBQ places is that I will never get used to BBQ cole slaw. Regular cole slaw is hard enough to pallet but the BBQ stuff is just offensive to my taste buds! Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 01-08
Bridges Barbecue marquee close-up
Shelby, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Bridges Barbecue Lodge
Shelby, NC Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Bridges Barbecue sign
Shelby, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Bridges Barbecue
Shelby, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
The Stowe-A-Way (Gone)
Carey Hilliard's
Bridges Barbecue Lodge
