Small Town Treasures: Raeford couple brings back barbecue at cozy, elegant downtown tavern
Welcome to Small Town Treasures, an occasional series about the surprising places to find great food in the rural areas surrounding Cumberland County. Know of a place that should be featured? Email food reporter Taylor Shook at [email protected].
Raised in Fayetteville, James Stewart, 39, said he spent the past two decades cooking in country clubs, burrito shops and pubs on island destinations from North Carolina's Ocracoke to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The seasoned chef is now back in the Sandhills with his wife Kimberly Stewart, 34. Together, the couple own and operate Stewart’s Tavern in Kimberly's hometown of Raeford.
A few years ago, the rural city of about 4,500 residents just west of Fayetteville lost its only barbecue joint, James said Wednesday, and the community felt the blow.
“Most people drive to Aberdeen or Southern Pines for dinner,” he said. “To get the business back in Raeford is extremely important.”
The tavern has filled the niche since it opened in November — brisket, pulled pork and ribs are the restaurant’s bread and butter — but at first, James was against the idea of serving barbecue.
“He enjoys making fancy plates, like a five-star restaurant,” Kimberly said. “We fought it and fought it. But now we’re glad we did it.”
James got a boost from since-departed Fayetteville barbecue spot
With help from Will Fowler, former pitmaster at the now-shuttered Fowler’s Southern Barbecue in Fayetteville, James brushed up on his barbecue processes and recipes. While some of the rubs, sauces and techniques are borrowed from Fowler, James said, the sides and desserts are all his own.
“Everything else we did ourselves,” he said. “It’s our cole slaw, our potato salad.”
Especially popular is the Reuben sandwich, which trades traditional corned beef for beef brisket, piled high with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and house-made thousand island dressing on rye bread.
The brisket quesadilla is also a best-seller, and when the weather gets colder, brisket chili takes the stage.
“When we had it, we were selling gallons,” he said.
Barbecue pairs well with bourbon
Kimberly works full-time as a nurse at FirstHealth Cancer Center but can be found mixing drinks behind the bar or keeping the tavern's books when she’s not tending to patients. On Wednesday, regulars warmly called her “Kimmie.”
“I’m here all the time,” she said with a laugh.
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The nurse said she keeps the bar stocked with local beer, house-made syrups and top-shelf bourbons and whiskeys.
She often whips up special cocktail menus for events like the Kentucky Derby, which called for mint juleps and Kentucky-style mules; or a Taylor Swift night, when she made the pop star’s famed “lavender haze” drink, a potion of Empress 1908 gin and falernum liqueur.
But Stewart's Tavern's most sought-after cocktail is a classic old-fashioned.
Stewart’s makes them the traditional way: a choice of bourbon or whiskey, a sugar cube, orange bitters, an orange peel and one large round ice cube topped with a marasca cherry.
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The Stewarts said they have stepped up their supply of top-shelf liquors recently by stocking bottles of Blanton’s and Pappy Van Winkle as often as they can source them.
“We’ve come a long way since opening,” Kimberly said.
Raeford couple says they want to see downtown keep improving
At 15 years old, Kimberly got her first job at Home Food Market grocery, which still operates across the street from the tavern.
Downtown Raeford has changed a lot since then, but Kimberly said she’s proud to be part of the transformation. She said it’s humbling to provide a place where all kinds of people gather to eat and drink together.
“We’re just small-town people who care,” she said.
The details
Address: 116 N. Main St., Raeford
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. Monday, closed Tuesday
On the web: stewartstavern.com
Contact: 910-479-1313
Food, dining and culture reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at [email protected]. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Stewart's Tavern in Raeford, NC is a rare rural find worth seeking out
