*Video* & Article: HAROLD's BBQ Struggling To Stay Open! (Atlanta: appointed, neighborhood)

[ulver]

In it's best day, the meat was smokey tender, the cole slaw fresh & cold, and the Brunswick Stew w/ cracklin' cornbread was the best in the South!


Harold's Barbeque, An Atlanta Treasure and Tradition - YouTube

It seems the family kids want to fold the business. They don't seem to have the passion for "Q" grandpa did.

They are attempting to make a go of it, but after eating there 40 years, I must say, it's not what it used to be...

Update: Harold’s Barbecue to remain open | Food and More with John Kessler

Anyone>?

[bryantm3]

probably the reason they're not doing well is a combination of the current bad economy and the huge population drop over the last 30 years in south atlanta.

[ulver]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

probably the reason they're not doing well is a combination of the current bad economy and the huge population drop over the last 30 years in south atlanta.

It's a few things. Once the GM plant closed, they lost their lunch business. It killed them. : The neighborhood went ghetto, and the old folks quit coming. I remember one night, when bullets were flying in the parking lot.

There was a reason, they had a pump-action shotgun near the register!

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by ulver

It's a few things. Once the GM plant closed, they lost their lunch business. It killed them. : The neighborhood went ghetto, and the old folks quit coming. I remember one night, when bullets were flying in the parking lot.

There was a reason, they had a pump-action shotgun near the register!

There was a GM plant in that part? When did it close? I thought GM plant was in Doraville.

[ATLTJL]

I've never even heard of it.

Looking at the map, though, seems like if it was good enough it would be able to draw from Grant Park, East Atlanta, Edgewood, etc. It probably would be better for them to find a new location. Just because your location doesn't work anymore doesn't mean you have to close the business, unless you want to.

[BobKovacs]

I can't say I'm surprised- I don't know how good the food was in the early days, but it sucks now.

When we moved down here in 2007, all the guys at work kept saying "you've got to go to Harold's- you haven't had BBQ until you've had Harold's". We took a ride down for lunch one day, and the place was empty. I waited anxiously for my plate, expecting the sky to open up and the light of heaven to shine down as I took my first bite. I was sorely disappointed- the meat was dry and flavorless, the cornbread was dry, and the Brunswick stew was the worst I'd ever tasted. Even my lunch partners seemed disappointed, as if it wasn't what they had remembered from past visits.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by FromGA

There was a GM plant in that part? When did it close? I thought GM plant was in Doraville.

Atlanta used to have two GM plants -- the one in Doraville (Buick/Pontiac/Oldsmobile) and the Chevrolet plant in Lakewood, near Harold's.

Of course we had the Ford plant in Hapeville, too -- we were quite a manufacturing center in the old days.

Back when downtown was the center of activity, Harold's was a favorite with many politicians and big wheels in the business community. So it wasn't unusual for the lunch crowd to include the governor, bank presidents, judges, the mayor, maybe a Senator, as well as truck drivers and plenty of other ordinary folks.

[ulver]

Originally Posted by FromGA

There was a GM plant in that part? When did it close? I thought GM plant was in Doraville.

IIRC in was summer of 1990. The structure was demolished later. Today it's just a huge wasteland.

Think about it: Atlanta lost two GM plants, and Hapeville Ford plant in a very short time.

And yes, Harold's just isn't the same. The grand kids just don't have the dedication. About a year ago, they got a 47 on a health inspection.
In better days:

Harold's Barbecue - Atlanta, GA

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by ulver

About a year ago, they got a 47 on a health inspection.

you can count me out, then. i don't eat pork anyway, but barbecue is something you don't want to mess around with, it's incredibly easy to get food poisoning because of the cooking method— low temperature cooking for a long period of time. you've got to make sure you cook it just hot enough, and after you've cooked it, you cannot let it get even lukewarm or it'll be a breeding ground for bacteria. it's a different case than with, say, fried chicken, where it's boiling in hot oil it pretty much eliminates all the bacteria so it doesn't have much of a chance to regrow even if it gets cool.

i had a bad experience with barbecue at a place that had a 77 rating a few years ago; never going to make that mistake again.

[ulver]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

you can count me out, then. i don't eat pork anyway, but barbecue is something you don't want to mess around with, it's incredibly easy to get food poisoning because of the cooking method— low temperature cooking for a long period of time. you've got to make sure you cook it just hot enough, and after you've cooked it, you cannot let it get even lukewarm or it'll be a breeding ground for bacteria. it's a different case than with, say, fried chicken, where it's boiling in hot oil it pretty much eliminates all the bacteria so it doesn't have much of a chance to regrow even if it gets cool.

i had a bad experience with barbecue at a place that had a 77 rating a few years ago; never going to make that mistake again.

In all fairness to Harold's, it was mostly because they had trimmed meat on the floor. It just wasn't something they thought about. End of the day you do the cleaning. Too busy choppin', and slicin' the meat at lunch I guess...