Irene Rich
“My father started this pit in 1948, and we still cook everything the same way over an open fire.”
Irene Rich is the owner of Peak Bros. Bar-B-Que in Waverly, and the daughter of co-founder Buddy Peak, who opened the pit with his brother Barker on July 4, 1948, after returning from World War II. She has kept the restaurant cooking ribs, chicken, ham, pork, and mutton over an open hickory fire for more than 65 years. After a 2006 fire destroyed the building, Irene rebuilt it with the support of her family. Peak Bros. is known nationwide for its 'black peppered ham' as well as its western-Kentucky mutton.
Philosophy
Keep the open pit burning exactly as her father did, and rebuild rather than let the tradition die.
Technique
Meats cooked over a live open hickory fire, the old Union County pit method carried on since 1948.