A tip of the snout and “oink you” to Dave, who pointed me to this very interesting N&O blog entry. According to the Mouthful blog, legendary BBQ pitmaster Ed Mitchell, who helped found The Pit in downtown Raleigh, has parted ways with the restaurant (or vice versa). Mitchell will pursue opening his own restaurant in a yet to be revealed location somewhere in the Triangle. It will be interesting to see where Mitchell lands and whether he sticks with the upscale concept pioneered at The Pit, especially given that… The Pit will be opening up a new location in downtown Durham sometime in the next several months, presumably in one of the Greg Hatem-owned buildings near the Post Office. (Hatem is a partner in The Pit and is a major real estate developer in Raleigh, with more recent interests in up-and-coming Durham.)
According to the N&O, Hatem commented about the split that, “We enjoyed our relationship with Ed Mitchell. Ed wants to pursue the Ed Mitchell brand. We want to continue pursuing great North Carolina whole hog barbecue.” Depending how you read that quote, it is either gracious or a bit of a dig at Mitchell’s larger than life barbecelebrity. A visit to The Pit’s website, which used to revel in its ties to Ed Mitchell, reveals no mention of its now-former pitmaster. Not surprising, but quite a change.
Looks like this story will be continued, so stay tuned…
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BBQ Jew 