Best Barbecue Joint In FL Goes To Tampa Eatery, Southern Living Says

TAMPA, FL — The barbecue enthusiasts have spoken.

The readers of Southern Living have voted Big John's Alabama BBQ in Tampa as Florida's 2024 Best Barbecue Joint, the magazine announced Wednesday.

Being served a taste of victory, the longtime Tampa restaurant was named among 15 of the south's best barbecue eateries that were decided by readers.

"This time around, they seem to be in something of a traditional mood. A parade of new, highly-acclaimed barbecue restaurants have opened all over the South in recent years, but the 2024 picks lean toward the tried-and-true," Southern Living writer Robert F. Moss said in his report.

Big John's made a home in East Tampa in 1968, according to the restaurant website. It was founded by the late Rev. John A "Big John" Stephens, who died in 1994. A grand re-opening for the establishment was hosted in January 2010.

RELATED: Best New FL Restaurant Dishes Out Classic Cuisine: Southern Living

See what Southern Living says about Big John's Alabama BBQ:

"Big John’s is new to the South’s Best list but it’s hardly new to the Tampa Bay area. The late Rev. John A. Stephens came to East Tampa from Eufaula, Alabama, and opened Big John's in 1968. Today the restaurant is run by Stephens’s grandchildren, and though it moved into a new building in 2010, it still features splendid chicken, sausage, and ribs cooked hot and fast on an Alabama-style open pit with a giant brick chimney."

Big John's Alabama BBQ: 5707 N. 40th St.; (813) 623-3600

Related:

• These Are FL's Best Restaurants, New Ranking Says
• Best Places To Live, Eat, Play In FL: 2023 Recap