LL Limestone Feature
Authentically Athens
At BawBaw’ s BBQ, even the name behind Athens’ newest barbecue spot has an all-original story to tell. By Benjamin Bullard
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It’ s tough to walk past the smell of barbecue without doing a little impromptu investigating. And if you’ re a barbecue fan whose morning schedule puts you anywhere near the southwest side of downtown Athens, it’ s probably even tougher to resist the waft of pit-smoked pork that fills the air in the vicinity of BawBaw’ s BBQ— a recently-opened restaurant spot whose simple Deep South treats already are racking up local fans.
From its catchy name to the colorful mural that graces its outdoor northern wall, BawBaw’ s and its hard-to-resist meat menu is an all-Athens creation; the brainchild of Jimmy McMeans and his wife Audrey. After spending the majority of his working life as a farmer( and, more recently, in construction), Jimmy finally capitulated to persistent family goading— especially from his daughter Casey— to convert his lifelong barbecue hobby into an actual business idea.“ I’ ve always done barbecue,” says Jimmy.“ I’ d done it
Summer 2026 \\ Limestone LIFE for about 25 or 30 years just out in my backyard. I just got to cooking, and it just kept going: I’ d cook for fundraisers, for ball teams and churches— and then people would know about it and then they’ d want to buy stuff.
“ My daughter Casey, she was the one who encouraged me to open me up my own place. At first I said,‘ Well Casey, ain’ t nobody gonna come to any restaurant,’ and she said,‘ Daddy, people call you already and they buy it out of the driveway!’” So we found this building. I worked on everything for about a year, and then we opened up on November 23rd of last year.”
Even before its six-month anniversary, a spot like Baw- Baw’ s has had no trouble earning a faithful local following.“ We get a lot of repeat customers,” says Jimmy.“ Some of them are in here three times a week. We get a lot of people from Texas talking about how good the brisket is. I’ ve got one customer who comes in here— he lives here now, but he’ s from Texas. He told me the other day; he said,‘ We