Joe’s Store

Just when I was beginning to think perhaps I’d imagined the warm taste of melt-​in-​your mouth pork. Just when I thought Brunswick Stew maybe was always watery or too full of things best left in vegetable soup. Just about that time I drove up to Joe’s Store, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere. Actually 6 miles off I-​20 from the Madison exit, drive south and you can’t miss it.
Joe’s Store is the real deal. This is great barbeque served by nice people for a good price. If it gets popular they’ll need far more table space. At the moment, they have one table that can handle 6 customers.
When I first arrived I asked, «Do you serve barbeque?» Even with all the signs outside about barbeque, when you walk into Joe’s what you see is the local convenience store/​gas station. Other than the limited table space for a meal, you’d never know they actually cook and serve food here.
The menu is very limited. For barbeque you can have Brunswick Stew or pulled pork served on a bun. They also offer burgers and other sandwich food, but you can get all that back home. I had a sandwich and a ½ pint of stew plus some unsweetened tea. It was perfection, plain and simple. I think it set me back $ 8. Then I ordered one of their homemade fried peach pies which set me back another $ 2.
I struck up a conversation with the man behind the counter and, yep, it was Joe himself. He apologized if the stew wasn’t the best today. «I just made it yesterday and stew is better on the 3^rd day.» Joe moved here from Atlanta where he was born. These days Joe apparently spends his time making what is surely some of the best barbeque in this part of Georgia.