{"id":71318,"date":"2025-12-04T17:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T17:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/71318\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T17:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T17:44:08","slug":"fort-lauderdale-bar-b-q-institution-closing-after-nearly-40-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/71318\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Lauderdale Bar-B-Q Institution Closing After Nearly 40 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLegendary Fort Lauderdale restaurant Tom Jenkins’ Bar-B-Q will close on December 21 after 36 years of delicious meats, ribs, and side dishes.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q photo<\/p>\n

For 36 years, Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q <\/a>has been the kind of place you could smell before you could see. A true Fort Lauderdale institution, its wood-smoked perfume often drifted down U.S. 1, drawing in generations of locals for St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, smoky chicken, and sides that tasted exactly like the Sunday dinners many grew up on. But this month, the beloved barbecue landmark <\/a>will close for good, marking the end of an era that Broward diners never imagined would come.<\/p>\n

The announcement went out quietly. According to the Sun Sentinel<\/a>, its owners left handwritten farewell notes taped to the door and the cash register, and it immediately sent shockwaves across the community. Longtime customers flooded the restaurant with calls, stopping by in disbelief and lining up for one last taste before the final day on Sunday, December 21. For so many people, Tom Jenkins\u2019 was not just a restaurant. It was tradition. It was comfort. It was Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n

\"\"In 2020, our readers named Tom Jenkins\u2019 the Best Barbecue in the Readers\u2019 Choice awards, cementing its status as one of South Florida\u2019s most cherished dining institutions.<\/p>\n

Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q photo<\/p>\n

A History Rooted in Faith, Friendship, and Southern Roots<\/p>\n

According to the restaurant\u2019s longtime website<\/a>, Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q originated in the 1990s, thanks to two friends: chef Troy Davis and pitmaster James \u201cJunior\u201d Hart. Both men shared a deep love for Southern cooking, shaped by Hart\u2019s family recipes from Georgia and Davis\u2019 culinary background, as well as the community-centered spirit in which they grew up. The restaurant\u2019s name honors Rev. Tom Jenkins, a minister whose warmth, hospitality, and faith inspired the founders and reflected everything they wanted the brand to stand for.<\/p>\n

Before opening a permanent location, Davis and Hart sold barbecue at local festivals and farmers\u2019 markets across Fort Lauderdale. Their slow-smoked meats and homemade sauce quickly developed a cult following, the kind that grows only when people taste something that reminds them of home. That momentum eventually allowed them to open their brick-and-mortar on South Federal Highway, where they have now operated for more than 35 years.<\/p>\n

In 2020, New Times readers named Tom Jenkins\u2019 the Best Barbecue in the Readers\u2019 Choice awards<\/a>, cementing its status as one of South Florida\u2019s most cherished dining institutions.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q was known for its St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, smoky chicken, and sides<\/p>\n

Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q photo<\/p>\n

A Legacy That Will Outlast Its Final Day<\/p>\n

What kept people returning year after year was simple. The ribs were slow-smoked until tender. The pulled pork was juicy and deeply flavored. The chicken had that perfect hit of wood and smoke. And the sauce, their not-so-secret secret, tied everything together with a tangy sweetness people would happily bottle if they could.<\/p>\n

Tom Jenkins\u2019 closing feels devastating because spots like this are not supposed to vanish. They anchor a city. They shape its food story. They make it feel like home. And long after December 21, Fort Lauderdale will still be telling the story of the barbecue house built from faith, friendship, and family recipes that fed this community for decades.<\/p>\n

Tom Jenkins\u2019 Bar-B-Q. 1236 Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale; 954-522-5046; tomjenkinsbbq.net<\/a>. Closing on Sunday, December 21.<\/p>\n

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