John Foreman
“It's an Owensboro dish, you don't get it outside of Owensboro, it's what we're known for, kind of our specialty.”
John Foreman is the fifth-generation owner of Old Hickory Bar-B-Q in Owensboro, Kentucky. The business traces to 1918, when his great-great-grandfather Charles "Pappy" Foreman started selling barbecue from a pit at 25th and Frederica streets, next to his blacksmith shop. John's father and grandfather took over in 1979, and John, who started hanging around the restaurant at age ten, took ownership in 2002. The restaurant says it still uses the same recipes passed down through the family, and it marked its 100th anniversary in 2018.
Technique
Old Hickory smokes its barbecue, including mutton, over hickory and uses the same sauce and dip recipes the family has passed down for generations.