Van Sykes is the son of Bob and Maxine Sykes, who opened an ice cream and hamburger stand in Birmingham's Central Park area in 1957, around the time Bob built his first barbecue pit. Van grew up in the restaurant and began working the pits at 12; when his father had a stroke, Van, then 14, ran the night shift while still going to school. He joined the Air Force in 1973 and served four years, then took over the business and cut it to a single store, Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q on 9th Avenue North in Bessemer. He is a founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and in 2024 he was named one of 10 finalists for the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame.
Philosophy
Sykes keeps the restaurant to one location. As he puts it: "Where other restaurants have branches, we have roots."
Technique
The restaurant starts cooking fresh pork shoulders at 3 a.m. over a natural fire of hickory coals, on an open pit in the center of the dining room.