FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACTS May 29, 2019                Will Gregory (AR) / (816) 645-6116

AMERICAN ROYAL ANNOUNCES 2019 INDUCTEES  FOR THE BARBECUE HALL OF FAME®

Kansas City, Missouri – The American Royal Association is pleased to announce the 2019 class of inductees to the Barbecue Hall of Fame: John “Big Daddy” Bishop, Wayne Monk, and C.B. Stubblefield.  The induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, September 14 during the 2019 American Royal World Series of Barbecue® at the Kansas Speedway. Each year, three individuals are awarded the prestigious honor and are recognized by the Barbecue Hall of Fame for their significant contributions to the barbecue community and demonstration of achievement in barbecue excellence.

This year, the Barbecue Hall of Fame will welcome the following three inductees:

John “Big Daddy” Bishop

John “Big Daddy” Bishop – Restaurateur, Media, Pitmaster John “Big Daddy” Bishop was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on October 15th, 1921. He spent much of his professional life working as a brick mason, but over time felt compelled to open his own neighborhood business. He initially settled on the idea of starting a mortuary, but all that changed with a dream. It was in that dream that God told Mr. Bishop to open a restaurant on the land in front of his home and to call it Dreamland. Mr. Bishop obliged and in 1958, he and his wife – Miss Lillie – opened Dreamland in the Tuscaloosa neighborhood of Jerusalem Heights. Miss Lillie – a fantastic cook – initially served everything from fried fish to cheeseburgers. However, it was their hickory-smoked ribs that quickly went from a local favorite to a national sensation. To keep up with demand, the Bishops soon whittled down their menu and began serving only ribs, white bread, and potato chips. The rest, as they say, is history.

Wayne Monk

Wayne Monk – Pitmaster, Restaurateur While Wayne Monk certainly qualifies as a business owner, it’s his role as a pitmaster of the Lexington style that makes him critically important to the history of barbecue. Since opening in 1962 when he was only 26, Wayne “Honey” Monk has set the standard that practically defines North Carolina barbecue; Lexington is recognized as a specific style, and the best example of that style is Monk’s restaurant.
The restaurant, and Mr. Monk, have received endless accolades from every publication that writes about Southern barbecue: Southern Living, USA Today, Garden & Gun, Our State magazine, The Charlotte Observer, even Craig Claiborne in the New York Times. In 1983, Monk even catered a barbecue dinner for seven heads of state, including President Ronald Reagan, at a G7 Summit in Williamsburg, Va. Wayne Monk is a part of the barbecue family tree: He worked for Warner Stamey himself, considered the godfather of Lexington-style barbecue. He defines the very role of North Carolina pitmaster.

C.B. Stubblefield – Pitmaster, Chef, Business/Industry, Restaurateur C.B. Stubblefield is the creator and founder of Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q Sauce as well as the famous restaurant “Stubb’s” originally opened in Lubbock, Texas and now situated in Austin. He was a pitmaster, a business leader, and a chef of everything barbecue. C.B. Stubblefield, known as “Stubb” got his first chance to cook for the masses as a mess sergeant in the last all-black regiment of the Korean War in the U.S. Army, transforming his mess hall into the first incarnation of Stubb’s Bar-B-Q restaurant. After his tours of duty in Korea, Stubb moved to Lubbock, Texas where, in 1968, he christened Stubb’s Legendary BarB-Q. It was here where he was urged by friends and patrons to sell his signature sauce. So using old whiskey bottles and jam jars, Stubb began hand-bottling his sauce for sale, corking each makeshift container with a jalapeño. Today, Stubb’s heritage lives on in his renowned sauces, marinades and rubs, continuing to make people feel good all over the world.