Awarded annually, Hot Concepts recognize emerging chains from around the U.S. that have impressive growth momentum and the potential to become household names.
Founder Rodney Scott took a lifetime working in barbecue and turned it into a multistate chain
In a world where people are extremely competitive about what kind of barbecue is the best — Texas versus North Carolina versus Kansas City and so on — Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ takes a very different stance.
“We take a very humble approach when we do come to new markets,” said Tyler Ashton, chief operating officer for the five-unit chain based in Charleston, S.C. “We listen to our guests. And if the guests really want something that we don’t have, then we create that experience for them. It’s twofold. We want to get them in the building … [and] give them [what they want], but then educate them on what it is [we] do.”
Rodney Scott’s, with locations in South Carolina and Alabama, most recently moved into Nashville, Tenn., where the chain introduced pork belly burnt ends and pork skin nachos for the first time — those items are now in all locations.
But as the name suggests, the menu at Rodney Scott’s centers around whole hog barbecue, a tradition founder Rodney Scott has participated in his entire life. He worked at his family’s restaurant, Scott’s Bar-B-Q in small-town Hemingway, S.C., from a young age, driving it to notoriety via a New York Times profile in 2009. From there, Scott’s star quickly rose.
Veteran restaurateur Nick Pihakis, who, among many other restaurants, founded Jim ’N Nick’s BBQ, befriended Scott and eventually convinced him to become business partners.
“Nick would go up there and he would mentor Rodney and … let him know that he’s got something much more important on his hands,” said Ashton. “That he could be doing something much bigger.”
Scott did a pitmaster dinner in Charleston where he was “met with excitement and a standing ovation,” according to Ashton. “The whole vibe helped Rodney understand that this can be so much bigger,” and Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ opened its first location in the area in 2017.
“Everything we do is very authentic to that region,” Ashton said. “It’s very important that we stick to that. And we haven’t really broken away from that tradition of open pit, live coal cooking.
“The big part about what we do is just keeping to that tradition,” he added. “We’re always going to cook the whole hog. We’re always going to do open coal, wood fire pits. We’re going to burn down our coals from wood that we source locally.”
But Rodney Scott’s isn’t afraid to try new things, either. The Nashville location is located on the fifth floor of a building right on Broadway. It has a walk-up window that’s open until 3 a.m., and starts serving breakfast at 8 a.m.
While the menu is centered around whole hog barbecue, the chain does offer sweeter sauce options along with the traditional savory heat. It also has an original sauce, “a pepper vinegar sauce from that region of South Carolina,” Ashton said.
The chain also features meats like prime brisket, smoked turkey, pit-cooked chicken, spare ribs, sausage, a catfish sandwich, and Ashton’s go-to: pulled pork. There are also the traditional barbecue sides such as mac and cheese, collard greens, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and salads.
“I always say that you can go to a lot of barbecue places and you can get good meat, and not-so-great sides — or good sides and not-so-great meat — or none of the above,” Ashton said. “There are very few places where you can go and get the whole experience. … Everything on our menu, I can stand behind as being very good and fresh.”
While the chain has some commercial power behind it — Scott was named Best Chef: Southeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2018 and featured on a 2020 episode of Chef’s Table: BBQ — Rodney Scott’s still leans on classic marketing tools to draw customers in, like specials and deals.
“We’re constantly running specials right now,” Ashton said. “We’re doing some tailgate specials and some stuff to lean into the [Tennessee] Titans [NFL team] this year.”
The restaurant also does “a ton of catering.”
“When you say barbecue, you know you’re gonna have a good time, there’s gonna be good food,” Ashton said. “The universal language of barbecue is, ‘it’s a party.’ Everyone does the technical piece a little different.”
Rodney Scott’s is opening in Miami next year, but other than that, “right now we’re just kind of enjoying the ride,” Ashton said. “What we have in front of us is what we’re really focused on.”
Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ was named a 2024 Hot Concept by Nation’s Restaurant News, recognizing emerging chains from around the U.S. that have impressive growth momentum and the potential to become household names. Scott will be speaking at CREATE, the free event for emerging restaurateurs, in Nashville this Oct. 9-11.
