Raising the bar (becue)
Thatcher Barbecue Company in Slade is building a movement
THE COAL MINER’S LIFE is “feast or famine,” Shawn Thatcher says, and when he got laid off from the mine in 2016, he was ready for a change. He and his wife, Crystal, emptied their savings to start a restaurant. Today, Thatcher Barbecue Company in Slade is pioneering what they hope will become an eastern Kentucky barbecue movement, marrying their favorite elements from regional barbecue styles across the U.S. It’s working—Kentucky Living readers named the restaurant one of the best barbecue spots in the state.
At Thatcher Barbecue Company, Texas brisket meets western Kentucky mop sauce and Carolina dry rubs, smoked over Kentucky white oak and hickory. Customers enjoy specialty items, like the BBQ Sundae (baked beans, pulled pork and slaw over a layer of hashbrown casserole), as well as brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, burnt ends and baby back ribs, plus homemade sides like sweet corn, green beans and sweet potato casserole.
In addition to the restaurant, the Thatchers own a barbecue sauce company that sells to restaurants in Louisville, Lexington, Corbin and Henderson. They also run The Pit House, which serves as next-door overflow seating during the day and a live music venue at night.
Growing up, Shawn says, there were times his family didn’t have enough to eat. From a young age, he learned to cook for himself, and to rustle up a meal for friends out of whatever he could find. “It’s a form of love,” says Crystal. “It really is.”
“We’re just super proud of being from eastern Kentucky,” Shawn says. “We want to promote eastern Kentucky and try to help our community.”
