CJ's BBQ

Fast, super friendly service. Nice atmosphere. Loved the Lonesome Dove references sprinkled around (IYKYK), but most of all the food…the pulled pork was incredible and the sides were hands down the best sides I’ve had with BBQ. The collard greens, in particular, were perfection. Definitely plan on coming back the next time I’m in town.

We found this little gem while looking for a local place to get some lunch from on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I wish I would have taken pictures of our food, but let me tell you, you HAVE to visit this place whenever you are in town.

I was a little hesitant at first when I saw other reviews mentioning that the food was a bit pricy, however, I am from Ohio and I found the prices to be way more than reasonable! Especially for how amazing the food was!

Food Review:
One of the best BBQ places I have been too, both back home and while traveling. We ordered the Hog rolls, pulled pork, and half rack of ribs. You could tell the meats are smoked very well - they had amazing flavor. The pulled pork was very flavorful and moist. The ribs absolutely melted off the bone and were very flavorful. Probably some of the best ribs I have had! I love that their sauce was on the side, and they had a wide selection of sauces to try! The original & Carolina gold were my favorite. For sides, we got baked beans, potato salad, and sweet potato bites. The baked beans had amazing flavor - they were seasoned very well and tasted very good. The sweet potato bites were to die for. The potato salad was also very fresh and flavorful! The appetizer of the hog rolls were also huge and very tasty! Also - portion sizes were great! I thought it was a great value for the portion and QUALITY of food you received. In my opinion, I thought the food was a little under priced for what you get, but you cannot beat the quality and freshness for the price!

Service Review:
The staff were amazing. Very friendly, attentive, and very personable. They were honest with menu recommendations and they did not steer us wrong!

10/10 - will be back every single year we visit the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Nice yummy breakfast in Spruce Pine. In fact one of the only places that’s not fast food to grab a good home cooked meal in the morning. The gravy was delicious, liver mush sandwich was great and the eggs were cooked perfectly. Nice friendly staff.

5 Stars Is No Where Near Enough! Regardless of the quality of the food, this is what “service” is supposed to be! And the food is the best BBQ I’ve ever had!

It’s easy to say something is the best. Words mean very little. CJ’s BBQ & More is SO MUCH MORE THAN FOOD! Recently, I was tasked with planning an event for 250-300 people at our facility in North Carolina. Our company is very high-profile and we do not make moves for the sake of making moves.

When it comes to BBQ, I have always been a fan of the standalone pitmasters that have a smoker setup in a parking lot on the side of the road. The heart, love, and “blood, sweat, and tears” that go into everything these people put into their food is instantly apparent with the first bite, and that was what I wanted for my guests.

When it came time to find our food vendor, I went to Facebook. I wanted to find a local pitmaster that could support the event (volume) while delivering an extremely high level of quality at the same time. I looked at about 10 pages and nothing really caught my attention—then I saw CJ’s BBQ & More.

Not knowing if Chris and his team could handle the volume, I send him an email asking for some information. I had a basic menu, level of service I wanted for my guests, and I put the ball in his court. It was the best decision I could have made! From minute one, Chris worked diligently to EARN our business, not take our money! I immediately saw value in CJ’s BBQ & More. Chris’ energy was infectious, and it was instantly apparent that the man truly loves what he does. I work in a world built on passion, and it’s very easy to recognize that in others—Chris has it in spades!!

After a few brief discussions to align on menu and service, Chris provided a quote that reflected his desire to earn our business. If the price was doubled it still would have been worth every penny!

As a formality, we wanted to sample some food so we knew what we would be getting. While I had hoped for a few samples just to get a taste, Chris brought out four trays of food and fed nearly the whole company! Every person that tried lunch that day was blown away! The food, the sauces, the sides… everything was absolutely amazing! The most difficult part was going back to work after such an amazing lunch!

Game Time! When the day of the event arrived, Chris brought is food trailer and smoker on site the morning of. We had discussed placement ahead of time, and I honestly forgot they were here when I was completing out setup. Chris and his team worked tirelessly to ensure our guests received the same level of service or more, and everyone was greeted and served with a smile! Our staff and guests were blown away by the food, and nearly everything was gone! Anything left over was quickly devoured by our staff and didn’t make it to the next day!

Chris even prepared different items that were not on our menu! I honestly wished I had added them to our menu because it was all amazing!

When all was said and done, the area used was left in the same condition as when they arrived. I could not have asked for anything better on any level! I don’t normally write reviews, but in my opinion, CJ’s BBQ & More deserves all of the praise and recognition possible! I can say with the utmost certainly, you will not find better food, better service, or nicer kindhearted people that truly care! Thank you, Chris! I can’t wait for the next one!

Me and my lady stopped here for lunch upon recommendation from a man who works at Gem Mountain.
What a pleasant and great plate of food we had. Pulled pork, baked beans, tater salad, cornbread and several sauces to choose from. Friendly down home staff.

The food was amazing and so was the service. We had the smoked ribeye for the first time and it was wonderful! I would recommend this place visit.

Was absolutely awesome!!! Service couldn’t have been better, entire staff came out at different times to make sure we were enjoying our meal. Lots of food for the money!!! If you like BBQ this place is a MUST!!!! We will be back!!!!!

Open everyday except for Sundays...Really good chicken and BBQ pork products...Along with specialty sandwiches.
It can get pricey but it tastes SO MUCH better than many of the restaurants in the area...Ask about their "Daily Specials" and their family meals!

Hospitality and Customer service are not dead! They are alive and well at CJ's! From the time we walked in to the time we left, we were treated like esteemed guests. From taking the time to answer our questions about the menu, to providing my pup with some water and a special treat I felt like I was some sort of VIP.
So many items on the menu sounded amazing, but I ended up getting the ribs with potato salad and baked beans for sides. Everything was well prepared and tasty. The monster burger was ordered at the table and I have to say it looked awesome and with the quick work done to finish it off, I'd say it was a hit.
I will definitely be back to try other things from the menu and highly recommend you give it a go.

Had a great experience and possibly some of the best bbq I have had. We stopped in, got their half rack rib and 2 sides special as well as a few wings. The wings were perfectly crispy, the ribs were tender, the sauces delicious, the sides were amazing too, and great service. Great value too. Was around $17 per person and I had more food than I could possibly eat. Next time I'm in town I plan on stopping back by.

Omg HOME MADE everything! Did not disappoint! I had hog buns ( pulled pork mozzarella and coleslaw rolled up on a wonton wrap and deep fried) delicious! The sweet potato casserole was better than any I have ever eaten! My dh had the monster ? Burger 2 patties topped in pork and soooooooo many toppings HUUUGE and delicious! Highly recommend a great place with great service!

Just keeps getting better each time! Great portions with plenty of left overs. The pickle fries are the best!! Price have gone up some but it's so worth it!

Excellent food for our Jazz Event at Greater Mount Sinai Baptist Church!!!

Mr. Joyner has been a vendor in my community where I plan events and was the caterer for my sons graduation party. I intentionally supported him as a black owned business. He was professional, courteous and the food is really good. My residents requested he return to the community and my family enjoyed each dish that was served at the graduation party. By comparison the prices are a tad on the high side but worth it !

BIG BBQ guy - this is some of the best I’ve had! Got the pulled pork sandwich and baked beans. Definitely will be stopping by again if I’m passing through!

Keep up the good work!

We stopped and got lunch to-go and when we got ready to eat our nachos the chips were stale. We ran back over there and they were SO apologetic and immediately fixed us a new order and even threw in a pineapple banana pudding! That customer service makes me wanna go back again and again! We got the nachos, fried pickles, wings with Cheerwine BBQ sauce and hog rolls, and everything was delicious! But the wings are where it's at! OMG so good! Thanks Chad and family, everything was amazing! Can't wait to eat there again!

Had an amazing dining experience there today! I was out with a few buddies off roading and we stopped here because of the Google reviews. 1st impression was that of a clean restaurant. Our server was new, but she did a great job and followed up with us keeping our drinks filled and table clean. I had the monster burger with potato salad and smoked macaroni and cheese. Great burger and the side dishes definitely did not disappoint! Both of my buddies ordered a 1/2 rack of ribs and their sides included baked beans, onion rings as well as the potato salad. We are all big guys and there was very little conversation going on because everybody was loving the food! LOL! We met the owners and they are great people. We sampled the smoked ribeye and I know that is what I'm gonna order next time there. Was very impressed with the service and how clean the place was. The restrooms, unlike a lot of places, were immaculate.

I highly recommend this place if you're in the area. Good food, good service and a good value/quality.

I almost forgot to mention something that really made this a great visit. One of the owners noticed we had a dog with us waiting in one of the Broncos when my buddy asked if they could provide a to go cup of water for him. (Weather was gorgeous and not hot)
He came buy our table with a large bowl and also offered a shoulder bone from a recently finished pork butt for our furry friend. Doug, the dog, was VERY pleased!!

We ate here while passing through on our way from Bakersville. The food is simply amazing. The ribs were incredible. Sauces, several were unlike any I’d had before, were amazing. Definitely try the Cherwine. We’re were already happily stuffed when the chef brought us a sample of “Mississippi pot roast.” We we’re hooked, and brought another rack of ribs, the Mississippi pot roast and sauces back to Maryland with us. We just had them for lunch. Amazing! We really enjoyed the fries and fried pickles too.
We really wish they shipped their meats and sauces because we’d happily order more of their delicious food if we didn’t have to drive 14 hours round trip to get it.
Any and every time we’re near that part of NC we will be going to CJ’s for BBQ.

A 5 Star review isn't enough for this business. I would give them 10/5 if possible. They had an extremely friendly staff that was very efficient and took care of our 13 person party. The food was excellent and the dessert was even better! Thank you guys so much!

Food has always been great and consistent but I finally got to try their smoked ribeye and it was the best steak I've ever had! I get mine well done and this was the first place that actually knew what they were doing! It was so tender I could use a plastic knife to cut it and it wasn't dried out like the other steak places in the county. We have definitely found our new weekend place to go. They also had a large party going on and were extremely busy but the service was fast and friendly and clean!