Just 20 minutes east of Wilson and deeper into Eastern North Carolina BBQ territory, there once sat a place that meant a whole lot to a whole lot of people. Cherry’s BBQ & Seafood in Elm City wasn’t flashy, and it didn’t need to be. It was one of those real-deal country BBQ joints where the building itself felt like part of the story, and the parking lot looked like a family reunion every weekend.
When James Cherry started cooking pigs and selling plates of barbecue on his tobacco farm in the early 1960s, he wasn’t trying to build a legacy. He was just feeding folks the way Eastern North Carolina has always done it. Whole hog cooked slow, smoke in the air, and that sharp vinegar-based sauce with red pepper and spices that lets you know immediately where you are. Not sweet. Not fancy. Just honest.
And somehow that simple beginning turned into over 50 years of people pulling off the road to eat like they’d been doing it their whole lives. Cherry’s stayed right there on the property for decades, serving generations of families until they finally closed around 2015. But even now, folks still talk about it like it’s still open.
It wasn’t just the BBQ, although that Eastern NC whole hog was the heart of the place. It was the buffet. The legendary collards. Hot banana pudding that showed up warm and comforting like it had a job to do. Boston butt in brown gravy. Sweet tater jacks. Pork back bone. Cream crunchy coleslaw. Deviled eggs. The kind of spread that didn’t feel like “going out to eat” as much as it felt like being taken care of.
Sunday was the big day. That buffet pulled people in from all over, and you could feel it. The church crowd. The regulars. The folks who didn’t even look at the menu because they already knew what time it was.
And the “& Seafood” part wasn’t just for show either. Cherry’s had delicious seafood too, which made it even harder to beat. A place where you could get a plate of real Eastern NC barbecue, then turn right around and load up on seafood like you’d hit the jackpot.
Cherry’s is gone now, but it’s not forgotten. Because places like that don’t just feed people. They become part of the map in your head.
Cherry’s BBQ & Seafood, Elm City, NC 🐖
6139 Webb Lake Rd, Wilson, NC 📍
35.8089, -77.8486
