Ray Ray’s Hog Pit has a new CEO and a new location. It’s a double-dose of good news as the barbecue joint welcomes acclaimed local Chef Bill Glover on as CEO while working towards its first brick-and-mortar.
Glover most recently served as the executive chef at Gallerie Bar & Bistro at Hilton Columbus Downtown, previously heading up lauded local restaurant Sage.
“I can’t tell you how much I respect James and how excited I am that we get to work together every day,” Glover says. “We will always honor the Ray Ray’s tradition and plan to keep everything customers love about Ray Ray’s the same, but damn, this is going to be fun!”
Glover and James Anderson, owner and founder of Ray Ray’s, have been colleagues, collaborators and friends for the past decade.
The chefs call their new partnership a “unique yet positive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Because we serve up the ultimate barbecue carryout comfort food, from food trucks with natural social distancing, our customers have been more supportive than ever during COVID,” says Anderson. “This significant increase in demand for what we do aligned perfectly with Bill’s availability, which has turned out to be ideal timing, as his skills really increase our bandwidth.”
Ray Ray’s has continued to grow during the pandemic, opening up its latest food truck location at Nocterra Brewing in Powell, 41 Depot St., in May.
In his new role, Glover will leverage his signature culinary creativity and focus on quality and local ingredients in helping to build the menu for the new brick-and-mortar restaurant.
Ray Ray’s will head to Granville for its brick-and-mortar location, taking over a vacant restaurant space at 1256 Columbus Rd. While details are still being finalized, diners can expect three methods for getting their BBQ fix – indoor seating, carryout and drive-through – and the signature smoked meats Ray Ray’s is known for. The restaurant will also incorporate product from nearby Anderson Farms and plans to serve beer.
“I’ve always wanted to open a ‘Meat and Three’ joint,” and this new site allow us to do that,” says Anderson “We want to respect the traditional fundamentals of a classic Meat and Three, but we’ll do it our way, with hometown barbecue and Bill using his genius to help build a menu of incredible sides that complement the BBQ.”
Popular in the South, ‘Meat and Three’ typically refers to a cafeteria-style restaurant where diners select their meat option along with three sides.
Ray Ray’s expects to open its Granville location in early 2021.
In addition to Nocterra and the new Granville location, the barbecue joint also operates trucks behind Ace of Cups in Clintonville and at Land-Grant Brewing in Franklinton, and a walk-up window and drive-thru in Westerville.
For more information, visit rayrayshogpit.com.
