John Lewis at Lewis Barbecue AtlantaFor Pitmaster John Lewis, Founder of Lewis Barbecue, barbecue has always been about more than what ends up on the plate. It starts with the fire.
The El Paso native started cooking as a kid, influenced by the food and flavors of the Texas-Mexico border. After moving to Austin, Lewis became immersed in the city’s barbecue culture, teaching himself about smokers, fire and the long, slow process behind great brisket. His path eventually led to helping open Franklin Barbecue and co-founding La Barbecue before he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he opened the first Lewis Barbecue in 2016.
The restaurant expanded to Greenville before Lewis Barbecue made its way to Atlanta whichopened at Ansley Mall along the BeltLine in December 2025.
Atlanta is a city that knows its barbecue, but Lewis brought a different regional perspective to the table: Central Texas-style barbecue built around simple seasoning, quality meat, wood smoke and time.
The restaurant’s custom offset smokers are central to that approach. Lewis has been building and tinkering with smokers for years, experimenting with airflow, firebox size and heat distribution. At Lewis Barbecue, the pits are fueled with wood and tended by hand, with the pit crew watching the fire and the meat throughout the cooking process.
It is a labor-intensive way to cook, but that is the point. Brisket is seasoned simply, allowing the beef, smoke and fire to do most of the work. Of course, brisket is only part of the menu.
The beef ribs are hard to miss, and the restaurant makes its Hot Gut sausages in-house. Smoked pork belly, turkey and pork ribs round out the meats, while the sides bring some of Lewis’ El Paso roots to the menu.
The Hatch green chile corn pudding is particularly personal. Made with Hatch green chiles from New Mexico, the dish has become one of the sides most associated with Lewis Barbecue. Other sides include cowboy pinto beans topped with pico de gallo, collard greens and Southern-style potato salad.
There is also Bar Lewis, the restaurant’s bar space, which brings a Texas honky-tonk feel to Ansley Mall. Guests can settle in for a drink and a snack or stay for the full barbecue menu.
The location itself has become part of the experience. Sitting directly along the BeltLine, Lewis Barbecue attracts diners who walk or bike over, families looking for a casual meal, groups meeting for drinks and barbecue fans coming from across Atlanta.
That neighborhood feel was part of what appealed to Lewis about Atlanta in the first place.
“Barbecue should be social,” Lewis says. The idea is simple: order some meat, add a few sides, grab a drink and sit around the table with friends and family.
That spirit will extend beyond the BeltLine on Thursday, October 15, when Lewis Barbecue joins more than 25 Atlanta restaurants at Grand Tasting Midtown at the Epicurean Atlanta. Presented by Taste of Atlanta, the event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. and brings together Midtown restaurants, cocktail, wine, and beer tastes plus chef demonstrations in the Culinary Theater and live music. The event takes place throughout the hotel’s expansive ballroom, sparkling pool area, and rooftop greenspace that offers a gorgeous evening view of Midtown, Atlanta.
Lewis Barbecue will be serving a combination that pulls together several of the restaurant’s signature flavors: smoked pork belly with Hatch green chile corn pudding, corn relish and Lewis Barbecue Secret Sauce.
For Lewis, the goal remains relatively simple, which is to make great barbecue, give people a place to gather and have a darn good time doing it.
