Good barbecue is one of those things you can’t rush. Any seasoned pit master can tell you “low and slow” is the recipe for success. The Wiggins family is more than familiar with the process. For three generations, each night at around 5 p.m. they tend to the fires and prepare the pork to feed the next day’s line of hungry patrons at Johnny’s BBQ. They can also tell you, like good barbecue, operating a barbecue restaurant is a labor of love, but the results are equally as “bulldog slappin’ good.”

In July, it will have been 60 years since Troy Wiggins purchased Johnny’s BBQ from its original owner, Johnny Graves. Having been in operation for nearly 15 years already, the restaurant had developed a reputation and become a frequented destination for travelers up and down I-65. Not wanting to lose the already established customer base — and because of another restaurant operating under the name of Troy’s BBQ just down the street — Troy left the name unchanged.

Troy’s son, Gary, was 9-years-old at the time, making him the perfect age — at least by 1963’s standards — to begin busing tables and washing dishes in his father’s new business endeavor. By the time Gary entered high school, he said he had become “fed up” with spending his evenings at the restaurant while his friends enjoyed their freedom having a good time and approached his father to express his frustrations.

“He kind of just let me talk and when I got done he just shook his head and said, ‘It must be so inconvenient to have to work for a living.’ So, I just got my stuff and went ahead and went to the restaurant,” Gary said.

The years have now given Gary enough wisdom to be grateful for the lessons his father taught him, but never lost his rebellious spirit. Troy purchased the property and began constructing the present day location of Johnny’s during Gary’s senior year at the University of Alabama. Gary was preparing to become an accountant and remembers telling his dad, “If you’re building that for me, don’t do it because I don’t want any part of it.”

Even after taking over the business when Troy’s health began failing, Gary never intended for his son, Josh — the current owner and operator — to take over the family business. In fact, he said he actively tried to talk him out of it. The generational cycle of rebellion would continue with Josh, who wanted nothing more than to continue the tradition.

“I wanted to do it, it wasn’t even a question,” Josh said.

Over the years there have been several small changes at Johnny’s. The menu has been expanded to include appetizers, ribs, nachos and baked potatoes. An enclosed smoker replaced the open pit — which required Troy to make frequent trips throughout the night to maintain the fire’s temperature — and a food truck was added. They also started adding pork to the baked beans recipe several years ago, but the sauce recipe has remained unchanged from the first day Troy took over the business.

Josh said he has heard rumors that the recipe could be found within the pages of an old community church cookbook, but said he and Gary are the only two living people with the knowledge of how to prepare the sauce.

“I’ve heard people saying that they found the recipe or that they have it, but it’s not our recipe,” Josh said.

By staying true to the same winning formula that has made Johnny’s a staple within the Cullman community, it has become more than a restaurant to the local families. It has become a tradition. Josh said he sees families who have moved away, make sure Johnny’s is the first place they visit when returning home. Other families will visit the restaurant together on the same night each week. Another couple has eaten lunch at the same table each day for years. Some have gone as far to have their wedding ceremony performed inside the restaurant.

“I guess we are kind of known by Johnny’s, but this community means so much to us,” Josh said. “It might be our family that runs it, but it’s like all of the people who come in here are our family too.”