Larry & Cheryl Carter, and John Ingle began JOHNNY REBS’ in 1984 because we missed the feeling of the South. We missed authentically prepared BBQ, smoked long and slow over hardwood coals, we missed catfish and hushpuppies, buttermilk biscuits and home-baked cobblers. We missed the hospitality of Southern folks. The three of us were just plain homesick for all that was good about the South.

Cheryl took a BBQ sabbatical, going first to North Carolina where she was introduced to John (one of Larry’s high school buddies). He was ready to get back into the Southern restaurant business, having owned and operated two of them in North Carolina previously.

So, while Cheryl was stoking fires at 3:00 am in BBQ joints such as Snook’s in Advance, N.C., John was researching recipes for BBQ sauce, Brunswick stew, slaw, key lime pie, and countless other JOHNNY REBS’ menu items. The mission was clear – authentically SOUTHERN.

Later, making the perfect biscuit became a passion for Cheryl and her training finally took her to Stone Mountain, Georgia where she rolled (by hand) 1,500 buttermilk biscuits one Saturday morning. Her hands had paralysis but her heart was full from this labor of love.

Meantime, Larry worked on finding a site. The best he could do was a 1920’s boarded-up beer bar that had never been a restaurant. When Cheryl showed it to her mom, she almost had a heart attack and thought about committing Cheryl for therapy. The place sure was an eyesore for the community in North Long Beach.

Cheryl, not knowing any better, vowed to take on the entire city of Long Beach building process. She found herself many times standing her ground as she gutted the facility, tearing it down to a skeleton and building it back up again. Cleaning out gambling paraphernalia from the basement and removing Hell’s Angels’ bullets from the walls didn’t even slow her down. She negotiated, pleaded, begged and prayed through the entire process of adding new electrical, plumbing, and kitchen and a down home seating for 80 guests. And finally, it was finished.

With a fresh set of eyes, Clay Carter partnered with Johnny Rebs’ in 1990 in order to streamline operations and help expand Johnny Rebs’ from a single to a multi unit chain. In 1990 he completely reengineered our BBQ preparation process. If you have a nose and are located within 1 mile of one of our locations you will now know it! New smokers stuffed full of real hickory wood now fuel our meat cooking. We are proud of the recent honorary distinction as the Best BBQ Restaurant in Southern California according to the Zagat Restaurant Survey of 2004.

Johnny Rebs’ is a genuinely rural Southern Roadhouse BBQ joint. Our history is real. Our people are real. Our food is real. Our heritage is real. We represent the good things about the South. The warm, friendly staff, knotted pine interior and aroma of AUTHENTIC down home cooking echo the hospitality that has made us an institution and inspires our work daily. Welcome to the Real South. Welcome to Johnny Rebs’.