Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q

In 1925, a railway worker named Bob Gibson smoked pork and chicken in hickory-fired brick pits on weekends and served it from a table nailed to a sycamore tree in his backyard in Decatur. He stood 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed about 300 pounds, so friends called him Big Bob. Out of that backyard came one of Alabama's best-known barbecue restaurants.

The white sauce that started here

Big Bob created a sauce of mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to keep his split chickens moist while they cooked on the pit, and the mixture became Alabama white sauce. Chickens are split, seasoned and laid open on the pit for about three and a half hours at 350 degrees, then dipped into a vat of white sauce. The family began bottling the sauce in the mid-1990s, and it is now sold in stores across several states.

What else to order

Hickory-smoked pork is a staple, and marinated turkey breasts are pit-smoked and sliced for plates or sandwiches. Sides such as potato salad and a dessert list round out a meal. If you only try one thing, the white-sauce chicken is the dish that built the name.

Four generations

The restaurant grew from the backyard to larger locations in Decatur. In 1952 Gibson opened the restaurant on 6th Avenue SE, where the family has carried the tradition forward through four generations. Big Bob eventually left the railroad to cook barbecue full-time.

Common Questions

What are the hours?
Daily from 9:30 AM to 8:15 PM. Call (256) 350-6969 to confirm.

What is Alabama white sauce?
A tangy mix of mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, created here for chicken.

When did it start?
1925, in Bob Gibson's backyard, with the restaurant at 6th Avenue SE opening in 1952.

Can I buy the sauce?
Yes, it is bottled and sold in grocery stores in several states.

Who runs it?
The Gibson family, now in its fourth generation.