The last stop on our Southern barbecue road trip is on the Georgia coast on the beautiful St. Simons Island. Transformed from an old coastal gas station, Griffin Bufkin and Harrison Sapp opened Southern Soul Barbeque in 2007 after cooking together at a variety of charity events over the years. Like other Pitmasters, Bufkin and Griffin’s dedication to doing things the right way gained quick notoriety within the barbecue community, and just three years later in 2010, the King of Flavortown himself, Guy Fiedi, brought his infamous Diners Drive-Ins and Dives to the island for a feature on Southern Soul BBQ.
Shortly after the DDD production crews left, Southern Soul BBQ suffered a tragic fire that would leave most restaurants as a memory, but in true Georgia fashion, the St. Simons Community rallied around Bufkin and Sapp and within weeks Southern Soul BBQ re-opened.
Today, Southern Soul BBQ remains a bustling must-visit destination to anyone traveling up or down the Georgia coast and has been known to divert Florida travelers off their paths for a taste of their barbecue. Griffin and Sapp also host Firebox, an annual barbecue festival in St. Simons Island created from the experience of their restaurant burning down. Firebox celebrates the Southern barbecue culture while raising funds to provide financial aid to anyone suffering from accidents or natural disasters in their community.
