At 82, Charles Hursey is still intoxicated by the aroma of pork smoking on a pit.
“I just can’t get enough of that smell,” Hursey said, walking out of the smoker room his namesake Hursey’s BBQ on the corner of Westbrook Avenue. and South Church Street in Burlington, one of four restaurants and a wholesale business of the same name.
Hursey, along with six of his peers from restaurants across the state, were inducted as members of the new N.C. Bar-B-Q Hall of Fame’s first class on March 1, 2024.
“It really is an honor. I really enjoyed being with the other barbecue guys, sharing stories and laughs. We were talking about the fact that it takes us eight to 10 hours just to put together one barbecue sandwich. Every one of them spoke about their faith. That was really inspiring. I am blessed to have the health and had the opportunity to do what I do,” Hursey said.
Hursey’s love for his craft is undeniable.
“I still love taking the meat off the bone, chopping, seasoning and tasting barbecue every day. You can’t help but taste it. Barbecue is in my blood,” Hursey said with a smile.
Hursey graduated from high school in 1960 but had been working in his parents’ restaurant for years.
“I learned everything I know about barbecue from my father,” Hursey said.
He took over his father’s restaurant on Rauhut Street in the early 1960s. It has since closed.
He recalls a time during segregation when two young African-American girls came to the backdoor of one the restaurants, asking to purchase sandwiches.
“I told them to come in and eat. I’ve always believed in equal rights. I learned that from my parents. I just couldn’t understand why everyone wasn’t supposed to just sit down and eat together,” Hursey said.
He noted that a young Tina Turner and the Harlem Globetrotters all ate at the Rauhut Street restaurant.
His restaurants and office walls are covered with the pictures of celebrities, athletes and politicians throughout the years, including presidents Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, both George H.W. and George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and UNC basketball coaches Dean Smith and Roy Williams.
“LBJ loved our chess pie,” he said. “That’s the great thing about barbecue. I can have politicians, doctors and lawyers sitting alongside farmers, construction workers and plumbers, all enjoying a good sandwich together. Barbecue just brings people together. That’s what I want North Carolina to be known for.”
Hursey credits his family and work ethic for his success.
“I just work hard. I’ve never known another way, and that goes for my family too. I never forced them to be in this business. They all wanted to. I am so thankful to be working with my children and grandchildren. It is a privilege to be working alongside them and see them every day,” Hursey said, just as Chris, one of his sons, walked into his office.
There are large boxes, labeled Lizzy’s Food Drive n honor of his late granddaughter Elizabeth, at each of the restaurants to accept food donations for those in need.
“She would have wanted us to do this for others,” Hursey said.
The Hursey family also sponsors many local youth sports teams.
When he’s not checking in on the restaurants or working at the wholesale business, Hursey has a number of interests.
He paints, fishes, puts together toy trains and turns and carves wood.
“I even carved a 5-foot giraffe,” he said.
But barbecue is always on his mind.
“At the hall of fame reception, all of us had so much fun. We consider ourselves partners, not competitors. We want North Carolina to be known for barbecue and that be the biggest draw for our wonderful state,” Hursey said.
