Bryan Furman, the once and perhaps future king of barbecue in Atlanta, says he’s leaving the city to open his new barbecue restaurant, but only technically.
In an exclusive interview, the award-winning pitmaster tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’s signed a lease to open his long-awaited namesake restaurant, Bryan Furman BBQ, in August at 186 Windy Hill Road in Marietta.
“I’m coming out swinging,” Furman says of his imminent return to metro Atlanta’s barbecue scene. “Don’t let the time fool you: I ain’t forgot who I was.”
It’s been a long road to reopening his own brick-and-mortar barbecue restaurant since Furman’s first Atlanta restaurant, B’s Cracklin’ Barbecue, closed in March 2019 after a devastating fire at 2061 Main Street in Riverside.
Since then, Furman has remained a fixture on the national barbecue circuit, touring the country for festivals and special events with his large mobile smoker, and finding ways to continue serving local fans of his beloved brisket, wings, fried pork skins and more at pop-up events.
Furman, who first opened B’s Cracklin in Savannah, built a national reputation for standout barbecue slab-by-slab.
He gained widespread acclaim not only for distinct recipes and methods for smoking meats (he’s specifically lauded for brisket) but also for his intentional sourcing to meet his own high quality standards. Furman has long insisted on using heritage hogs, which he learned to raise on his grandparents’ South Carolina farm.
Following the 2019 fire, Furman opened a B’s Cracklin’ barbecue counter inside Kroger at 725 Ponce de Leon Avenue. There he prepared baked brisket beans, collard greens, mac and cheese, and other longtime menu favorites customers could warm and consume at home.
Furman would soon close the Kroger location and in 2021 shared plans with the AJC to open Bryan Furman BBQ at 2012 Bolton Road, on a parcel of land within walking distance of the original Atlanta restaurant.
Furman’s plans to stay in Riverside changed due to rising construction costs at the Bolton Road location, which he purchased and is in the process of selling. He says the price to get the new restaurant ready to open went from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions.
“I know the cost of opening a barbecue joint,” Furman says when explaining the change of location to Windy Hill Road. “I don’t know how much it’s going to cost, but I know it won’t cost me nowhere near that.”
The new home of Bryan Furman BBQ will be familiar to lovers of barbecue near 186 Windy Hill Road, as it is the former home of Herb’s Rib Shack. Furman says he’ll add fresh paint to the interior and exterior, and will be be hands-on at his large outdoor smoking rig while preparing to install a smoking pit behind the building, where a concrete slab already exists.
Furman says opening a restaurant with a structural foundation for cooking barbecue was a better option.
Credit: Mike Jordan
Credit: Mike Jordan
“Going into debt from a business standpoint didn’t make sense. Also, I had to stop thinking about what everybody else wanted, and [start thinking about] what I wanted.”
Bryan Furman BBQ will be takeout-only, with the later possibility of a small seating area in back. There will be no alcohol, and he’s gone back-and-forth on installing a deep fryer, although he says he’s decided it’s necessary – not only for customers who love fries but those who might revolt if his fried pork skins are not available.
He may add smoked portobellos and other veggies, as he’s seen diners becoming vegan-curious in recent years. And he’s excited about introducing his mother’s apple cake recipe for post-barbecue dessert.
Instead of a step back from the interior dining room experience of B’s Cracklin’s heyday, Furman says this iteration is a return to his roots.
“It’s really going back to the origin of when I first thought of a barbecue concept being takeout, like a true South Carolina rib shack,” he says. “When I came to Atlanta, that’s when I started serving alcohol. My Savannah location couldn’t even serve alcohol. It was more like get it and go, or eat in your car and keep it moving. And it was more consistent.”
Credit: Bob Townsend
Credit: Bob Townsend
Few things are more important than consistency when it comes to barbecue. Furman doesn’t think he’s changed dramatically from what made him and his barbecue so well-regarded, but after many challenges to get back into a consistent space, customers will likely be curious to see if he’s still got the goods.
And since many of them will be new customers unaware of what they’ve been missing, what should they expect this summer when he’s finally back?
“The 2024 experience of Bryan Furman BBQ is that Bryan Furman has more experience,” he says with a grounded laugh. “The closing brought me back into a slowdown mentality, not rushing or trying to be perfect,” he says.
Credit: Mike Jordan
Credit: Mike Jordan
When asked how it feels to be back, Furman takes a breath and says it’s an honor, admitting that he considered giving up several times before signing the new lease.
“I never doubt myself, but sometimes you do have those hard times,” he says. “But it’s like, man if I don’t do nothing, I owe Atlanta one. And it’s bad to feel like I owe somebody, but I owe Atlanta a restaurant. And even though it’s not in Atlanta, it’s not far. It was just the right place at the right time.”
And in both business and barbecue, timing is everything, he says.
“Barbecue’s supposed to be like wine. It’s supposed to get better with time. Anytime you’re passionate about something and creative, you want it to get better. I’m not just gonna stick to one thing and be complacent with where my barbecue was in 2019. I’m not trying to be mediocre.”
Bryan Furman BBQ will be located at 186 Windy Hill Road in Marietta. More details will be forthcoming at his Instagram account, bs_pitmaster.
