Martin’s to bring whole hog barbecue to Cahaba Heights

There’s no shortage of barbecue restaurants around Birmingham, but Pat Martin plans to bring something different to Cahaba Heights with Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint: whole hog barbecue.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que is a Nashville-based restaurant that builds on the west Tennessee tradition of smoking whole hogs, which Martin said he learned in college. The Cahaba Heights location, set to open at 3029 Pump House Road later this fall, will be the first one in Alabama.

“In that little pocket of west Tennessee, they only cook whole hog,” Martin said. It requires 24 hours to smoke an entire hog for pulled pork, with someone stoking the fire every 30 to 40 minutes.

Whole hog barbecue takes a lot more time and effort, Martin said, which is why it’s rare to find in a restaurant setting.

“It’s really cool to be part of keeping that alive,” he said.

Martin’s Bar-B-Que started as a retirement dream for Martin, but eventually he decided to open his restaurant much sooner. Their first Nashville location opened with one other employee in 2006 and, Martin said, “I started running out of food every day.”

“It very gratifying to do something that was a dream of yours,” he said.

Running out of food is actually a daily goal for Martin and he doesn’t mind having to tell customers when that happens. It means that the next day they’re starting from scratch with “uber fresh” ingredients for the day. Martin said his restaurants don’t have a freezer or a microwave.

While Martin’s Bar-B-Que will offer pulled pork, their menu will also include staples such as smoked chicken, wings, spare ribs, catfish and burgers, as well as sides and sauces. Martin said popular meals include their ribs, the brisket burger and sandwiches with cole slaw on top.

The restaurant will include indoor seating and a bar, as well as an outdoor “beer garden” with picnic tables, landscaping and entertainment such as shuffleboard and a concrete pingpong table. The beer garden also has a view of the two pits for smoking the hogs.

Since Martin’s Bar-B-Que is fast casual, Martin said his goal is for people to have a satisfying lunch under $10. The restaurant hours will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Learn more about the restaurant at martinsbbqjoint.com. Martin's is opening its doors on Nov 8.