Longtime Archdale barbecue restaurant closes
Oct. 27—ARCHDALE — For John McPherson, the decision to close his popular longtime restaurant, Archdale Bar-B-Que, was difficult but unavoidable.
"I'm 73 years old. We had a real good business. I enjoyed working; I really did. I had a few good employees," he said. "But it's tough to run to a restaurant when you ain't got no help."
A persistent labor shortage since the coronavirus pandemic took hold ultimately left him no choice but to shut down, said McPherson and his daughter, Jennifer McPherson, who also worked at the restaurant.
"If we had adequate help, we would 100% be open," she said.
Instead, the restaurant's sign at Surrett and Sealy drives in Archdale broke the news to the community earlier this week.
It brought an end to a 20-year run for Archdale Bar-B-Que, which routinely drew steady streams of customers who packed the dining room and lined up at the drive-thru, beginning early in the mornings.
"They love the barbecue and the breakfast tenderloin biscuit. That was the going thing," McPherson said of his menu.
He's part of a local family that's been in the barbecue business for decades, operating the Country Barbeque and Country Barbeque Express restaurants.
When McPherson set out on his own, he and his late wife, Linda, opened Archdale Bar-B-Que in January 2002, constructing it from the ground up on a site just south of High Point near the Thomas Built Buses plant.
He would come in at 1 a.m. each day to prepare for breakfast and cook the barbecue in the wood-chip smoker in the back of the restaurant.
"It takes a family to have a restaurant, unless you're Burger King or McDonald's," he said.
After the pandemic decimated the restaurant industry, McPherson said they tried everything to weather the labor shortages, offering staff raises, going to drive-thru service only and closing at 2 p.m. each day.
But he said it took too much of a toll on his family, especially after the unexpected death of his wife in July.
"If I pack this place full and only have one server, that's a hard choice to make as business owners," said Jennifer McPherson. "It's overwhelming."
Archdale Bar-B-Que — the land and building, as well as the business itself and all of the kitchen equipment, furnishings and other personal property associated with the restaurant — is being offered for sale for $4.5 million, John McPherson said.
It's available for immediate use as a restaurant, but the family is open to prospective buyers who might have other plans for the property.
Despite the recent challenges, McPherson said he's at peace with retirement.
"It's just time," he said. "We accomplished all of our goals."
Jennifer McPherson added, "He should be proud of himself and happy for his success. He worked hard here."
