The Georgia Pit
Photo by Nathan Kelly.
0513 Georgia Pit
Charles Hawk smokes barbecue and sells it from his Highway 280 stand.
Charles Hawk has never used a simple smoker to cook a butt or rack of ribs. His meat has always been perfected in an underground pit.
He sums up the result two words: consistency and affection.
Using only pecan tree wood, he now slow cooks meat using the same style he grew up with and sells it on U.S. 280.
“This started out as a hobby of mine after I retired,” Hawk said. “After I built our little barbecue stand, I just cooked it the way I had learned in my childhood and now it’s a hit.”
His takeout-only barbecue stand parks next door to the Cowboys gas station on U.S. 280 in Greystone. Hawk said he knew the owner of the gas station before he opened and was graciously given a spot to sell his barbecue.
As for the name, Hawk grew up in Madison, Ga., before moving to the Birmingham area as a teenager when his dad got a job as iron worker.
He never expected the business to take off like it did, and he considers all that has come from it a blessing. Customers have travelled from as far as Tennessee or Key West, Fla., and told him they like his meat more than any barbecue restaurant they had tried. Now, he sees his business as a way to give back that blessing to his customers.
The food at The Georgia Pit is simple: pulled pork, ribs and Conecuh sausage. No sides are served, but each plate ($12 for pork, $15 for ribs) comes with either two slices of bread or a bun. You can also buy a $40 butt ($50 chopped) or $25 rack of ribs ($30 sliced). Sausage is $10 a pound, or comes on a $5 hoagie.
Hawk’s most popular item is the $6 pork sandwich, which he said comes with enough meat to feed a small family.
The Georgia Pit’s sauce is available to buy as well ($6 for a pint, $12 for a quart and $25 for a gallon). Hawk created it after he made the recipe for the rub he uses with his barbecue.
After all, it’s his food that he sees as the key to his stand’s popularity.
“Our barbecue stand is about as humble as you can get in the food industry. We’re a family-run business parked next to a gas station with hardly any advertising besides word of mouth,” he said. “But if you have a good product, people will come back to see you and bring a friend.”
