List: Here’s the best barbecue restaurants in Macon, Georgia
3 min readGeorgia College history professor Craig Pascoe, center, stands by the sign of the original Fincher’s Bar-B-Q in Macon with Jake Fincher, left, and student Andrew Braddam. The sign will be part of an exhibit on barbecue history that Pascoe and his students are building for the Atlanta History Center.
The Telegraph
Editor’s note: As 2020 come to a close, the Telegraph looks back on our Best of the Best contest to share our readers’ favorite restaurants and businesses.
Residents of Macon-Bibb County voted in multiple categories for The Telegraph’s 2020 Best of the Best Awards, including Best Pizza Place, Best Restaurant and Best Coffee Shop.
However, only three restaurants were chosen by voters to win the Best Barbecue category.
The Best of the Best awards are given to businesses who receive the most votes online through The Telegraph’s website.
Here are the restaurants who received the most votes in the Best Barbecue category.
First place: Fresh Air Bar-B-Que
Fresh Air Bar-B-Que, at 3076 Riverside Drive, originally opened in Jackson in 1929, according to its website, and it was the winner in the Best Barbecue category.
The barbecue at Fresh Air is a tangy tomato and vinegar style that they say is known nationwide.
The restaurant’s Macon menu includes several barbecue plates, Brunswick stew and family packs of barbecue and ribs. The restaurant is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Second place: Fincher’s Barbecue
Fincher’s Barbecue, at 5627 Houston Road, received the second place award for the 2020 Best of the Best competition. The restaurant has multiple locations throughout Macon and opened its first location in 1935 only a few years after Fresh Air opened its doors, according to its website.
Fincher’s currently has four locations in Middle Georgia that serve a variety of barbecue plates and several sandwiches including its famous Pig sandwich.
Here are the different location hours in Macon:
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3947 Houston Ave., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday
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5627 Houston Road, Breakfast: 6 a.m.-10 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Lunch and Dinner: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily
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891 Gray Highway, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Third place: Satterfield’s Barbecue
Satterfield’s Barbecue, at 120 New Street, received the “Honorable Mention” title for Best Barbecue.
The restaurant tries to source its food from local farms when possible, and the food is prepared daily from scratch, according to its website.
Satterfield’s is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
