Ed Mitchell Leaving The Pit (Raleigh, Durham: new house, live, restaurant)

[CHTransplant]

The N&O reports today that Ed Mitchell has split with his partner at The Pit so that he can promote his own "Ed Mitchell" brand. He'll apparently be opening a new restaurant, but no details on that yet.

At the same time, The Pit is going to open a second restaurant in Durham.

Pitmaster Ed Mitchell leaves Raleigh's The Pit - NewsObserver.com

[underPSI]

The only thing The Pit will have now is it's atmosphere. That might keep it afloat for a little while with the northerners but the true southerners will stop going since the pitmaster is gone and I'm sure Ed Mitchell will be taking his recipe with him.

[wyheel]

I went to the Pit recently... the cheese grits were really good.
BBQ.... kinda dry and tasteless.
Ribs.... kinda dry, OK taste.
Brisket... not bad.
Overall, I think this might be good. IMHO, the Pit is running on its rep now,
not on actual quality.

[Dire Wolf]

Hate to see him go, but with things nicely established there now, I think the Pit will be fine. Just don't change the recipe. I thought the BBQ and the Ribs were absolutely fantastic and lived up to the hype the last couple of times we went.

[Streamer1212]

Originally Posted by CHTransplant

The N&O reports today that Ed Mitchell has split with his partner at The Pit so that he can promote his own "Ed Mitchell" brand. He'll apparently be opening a new restaurant, but no details on that yet.

At the same time, The Pit is going to open a second restaurant in Durham.

Pitmaster Ed Mitchell leaves Raleigh's The Pit - NewsObserver.com

Let's hope that Ed partners again with someone that has more business sense than he does. He's a fabulous pitmaster and barbecue guru, but his success at the Pit is directly due to Greg Hatem's restaurant strategy skills and marketing management of Ed's talents. Ed has the well-earned reputation, but he's not much of a businessman. He needs substantial help in that arena, and I hope he gets it. His 'cue is heavenly.

And if Greg is opening another Pit in Durham, you can be sure he's got somebody good waiting in the wings to fire up that cooker as well.

Regards,
Streamer1212

[HS_DUDE]

Originally Posted by underPSI

The only thing The Pit will have now is it's atmosphere. That might keep it afloat for a little while with the northerners but the true southerners will stop going since the pitmaster is gone and I'm sure Ed Mitchell will be taking his recipe with him.

I'll be honest with you, the atmosphere is what keeps me away. Some things are just meant to be down and dirty...BBQ is one of them. Just my opinion.

[Poggly Woggly]

Originally Posted by HS_DUDE

I'll be honest with you, the atmosphere is what keeps me away. Some things are just meant to be down and dirty...BBQ is one of them. Just my opinion.

When I went to The Pit I tried to tune out everything but the barbecue. I ordered a barbecue sandwich only, although I didn't care for the side of fries or the over sized bun. The flavor was just as I remembered when I occasionally ate at the old family business down in Wilson his dad started. It had a very good flavor but a little over salted. I hope Ed will return to his roots and get the old place going in Wilson again....that is if Bill Ellis will sell the place back to him

[LoopDeLoop]

Originally Posted by underPSI

The only thing The Pit will have now is it's atmosphere. That might keep it afloat for a little while with the northerners but the true southerners will stop going since the pitmaster is gone and I'm sure Ed Mitchell will be taking his recipe with him.

according to the article, the recipe stays. let's hope that's the case.

i will be curious to see what sort of restaurant mitchell opens & how it fares. i do agree that his partnership with hatem likely helped tremendously with marketing & the upsurge of the restaurant.

[ProjectE]

Haters gonna hate on the Pit but I always thought the ribs were excellent. And bacon, chedder grits were awesome*.

But I am excited to see Ed Mitchell open a new place.



*ProjectE is not from the south and did not grow up on grits.

[macjr82]

Originally Posted by Poggly Woggly

When I went to The Pit I tried to tune out everything but the barbecue. I ordered a barbecue sandwich only, although I didn't care for the side of fries or the over sized bun. The flavor was just as I remembered when I occasionally ate at the old family business down in Wilson his dad started. It had a very good flavor but a little over salted. I hope Ed will return to his roots and get the old place going in Wilson again....that is if Bill Ellis will sell the place back to him

I doubt that. Ol' Bill has to pay for that nice big new house he is building on that pond off 264 by his restaurant