George & Betty
Founders · 1962
Opened the doors. The recipe is theirs.
Open-Pit BBQ · Three Generations · Northport, AL
Archibald & Woodrow's Since 1962 · The Original
Same hickory pit. Same recipe. Same family.
A small cinderblock building in Northport, Alabama. Sixty-four years. Three generations of the Archibald-Washington family. The ribs that USA Today, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, and the New York Times come back for.
As Featured In
The press the pit earned.
Sixty-four years of slow-smoked hickory ribs have a way of getting written about.
"The #1 ribs in the country."Sports Illustrated · Andy Staples, 2017
"As good as any you can find in the whole country."Southern Living · Robert Moss · #1 Legendary BBQ Joint, 2021
"A great char, an orange-hued vinegary sauce, a tug of the incisors."USA Today · John T. Edge, 2013
"It's made with love. All the ingredients — l, o, v, e."Woodrow Washington III · Alabama Public Radio, May 2026
USA Today·
New York Times·
Southern Living·
Sports Illustrated·
Good Morning America·
Alabama Public Radio·
Southern Foodways Alliance·
Alabama BBQ Hall of Fame
The Original Mark · c. 1962
The Origin
A small cinderblock building in Northport.
In 1962, George and Betty Archibald opened a barbecue joint in a small white cinderblock building off what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Northport, Alabama. George cooked the ribs. Betty made the sauce.
The original building is still serving fans today — same pit, same hickory, same vinegar-orange sauce. Sixty-four years later, the recipe hasn't changed and neither has the family.
"Just build a fire and keep the fire low," George said. "Cook it slow."
The Family
Three generations. One fire.
George & Betty Archibald opened the doors in 1962. Their children George Jr. and Paulette Washington kept the fires burning. Today the third generation — Paulette's children, the Washington siblings — carry the recipe forward. Woodrow's two kids are in the wings.
George Jr. & Paulette
2nd Generation
Raised cooking ribs, making the sauce, cutting hickory wood.
Woodrow Washington III
3rd Generation · Pitmaster
Opened the Tuscaloosa location in 2002. Birmingham in 2025.
TW
Tray Washington
3rd Generation
Siblings carry on what George Sr. and Betty started.
LH
Lashawn Washington Humphrey
3rd Generation
It's still a family affair.
"It's just the family business. It's really not a choice. You kind of do it by default." — Woodrow Washington III
The Pit
Open-pit. All hickory.
"Really, it's the style of cooking — because it's an open pit, just an old hickory pit. We use all hickory wood. And it's about being consistent."
Hickory smoke gives the meat its crisp outer char and keeps the pulled pork moist and tender. The sauce — Betty's recipe — is peppery, vinegary, atomic-orange, and pours on thick enough to stain a tie.
No beef. No shortcuts. Same recipe since 1962.
Three Doors
One family. Three pits.
The original cinderblock building in Northport. The Tuscaloosa location Woodrow opened in 2002. And — newest — Birmingham, since May 2025.
Northport · Archibald's
The cinderblock building, the original pit.
1211 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Northport, AL 35476
Mon – Sat · 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Closed Sundays
Tuscaloosa · Archibald & Woodrow's
Woodrow's expansion across the river.
4215 Greensboro Ave
Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
Sunday · 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Call for weekday hours
Birmingham · The New Door
The third generation, the third location.
830 1st Avenue North
Birmingham, AL
Newest location · Hours forthcoming
Follow on Facebook for updates
On-Site Catering
Hall of Fame BBQ. Brought to you.
Open-pit BBQ + fried catfish on-site via our food truck and trailer. Mains, sides, finger food, breakfast spreads, desserts — the whole table, the way it comes out at the counter.
From small family gatherings to weddings, corporate, and graduation events. Call to talk through your headcount and we'll build the menu around it.
The fire's been lit since 1962.
The line's still out the door.
Pull up a chair, take a number. Same hickory pit. Same Washington family. Same sauce.