‘It’s heartbreaking’: Iconic Durham barbecue restaurant could close this month
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Backyard Barbecue Pit may close by the end of this April.
- Current operator McLean seeks a buyer to preserve the restaurant’s nearly 20-year legacy.
- Rising prices and staffing issues strain the business; a 2023 GoFundMe sought aid.
A cherished Durham barbecue joint appears to be winding down operations after nearly 20 years in business.
Backyard Barbecue Pit in Durham could close by the end of April, owner and operator Angela McLean said in a phone interview. McLean said she would like to sell the business and pass on its legacy, which stretches back to 2007.
Backyard Barbecue Pit has been featured on “Man v. Food” and in Southern Living, but has struggled in recent years, including the need for a $50,000 GoFundMe campaign in 2023. That year, Backyard founders Fabianne and Melvin Simmons handed the restaurant over to McLean.
Now a turbulent economy and rising prices are pushing McLean to likely close the restaurant, though no end date has been determined. Backyard Barbecue Pit would close as one of the few Black-owned barbecue restaurants in North Carolina.
“People are having to choose between buying a meal or putting gas in your car,” McLean said.
Backyard’s origins
Backyard started in 2007 when the Simmons drove around the Triangle looking to buy a restaurant. They found a struggling barbecue restaurant called the A&W on NC Hwy 55 in Durham with a for sale sign in the window. They made a deal that day.
“My husband was a great, great cook and with my background in accounting, I knew we could make it work,” Fabianne said.
For the next 17 years, Fabianne and Melvin Simmons built a reputation for traditional-style smoked barbecue, cooked for hours over wood coals. The restaurant’s dining room walls bore the signatures of dozens and dozens of diners, starting with American Idol alum Clay Aiken.
Backyard was written up numerous times by national publications spotlighting North Carolina barbecue, most recently in National Geographic in 2023.
A loyal group of regulars
Beyond the acclaim, Fabianne said she was most proud of Backyard’s role in the community, where the restaurant would often give meals away to diners struggling to pay. She said Backyard was embraced by a loyal group of regulars.
“We took pride in everything we did; customer service was thing main thing for us,” Simmons said. “We wanted to make food that was affordable. And if they didn’t have money, we still allowed them to eat. ... It was a home. It was a hole in the wall, but it was the community’s hole in the wall.”
That group of regulars has remained loyal to Backyard, McLean said, even as she learned the recipes and techniques of the restaurant and struggled with staffing issues.
“I love my customers, especially my regulars who were coming here before I took over,” McLean said. “This is not an open a bag and put it in the microwave kind of restaurant, we make everything from scratch. (Backyard) is a staple that everybody knows.”
McLean said Backyard could be closed by the end of April, though she is looking for a new owner for the restaurant.
In 2023, Fabianne Simmons said she and her husband stepped back from the restaurant over health issues at the time. With her husband’s health improved, she said she has considered taking Backyard Barbecue Pit back over.
“For an establishment like Backyard, it’s an icon,” Fabianne said. “It’s very heartbreaking for it to get to this point. When you put 17 years in a brand and business, and it get to this point, it hurts really bad. ... I would love to see it blossom all over again.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 8:18 AM.
