Lannie’s makes barbecue hall of fame
Published 10:45 pm Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Since 1946, one of the Queen City’s finest restaurants has been dishing out some of the best burgers, fries and, of course, barbecue around. It’s the restaurant’s specialty that has earned it a spot in the Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame.
Lannie’s Bar-B-Q, located on 2115 Minter Ave., is among 29 barbecue joints listed by the Alabama Department of Tourism.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced the hall of fame Tuesday.
Lula Hatcher, the daughter of Lannie Travis, who established the restaurant, said she could not be happier to have her family’s restaurant hailed as one of the greatest in Alabama. Hatcher still remembers how it all got started.
“My mother used to get hogs and my stepfather would kill them,” she said. “She would cook the meat on top of the stove, and then put it in the oven to bake and sell. We moved over here where we are now, and he built a pit outside and started barbecuing like that.”
At 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. orders of barbecue and fish sandwiches to cheeseburgers are placed everyday, said Candis Hatcher, a family employee.
“It’s very busy,” she said. “We open up at 8 a.m. every morning, and the guys who’d been working all night at Bush Hog come over and they’re eating catfish and barbecue at 8 a.m. in the morning.”
Almost anyone can cook the meat, but it’s the sauce that sets Lannie’s apart from any other barbecue in the area, Hatcher said.
In fact, it just might be the sauce or other great items on the menu that has about 100-200 customers coming through the doors each day.
“I come to Lannie’s because it has been in the community for a long time, and they serve some of the best food,” said Gloria Simmons, a customer. “It’s a great place to eat. I love everything they have on the menu.”
Hungry customers travel near and far for a bite of Lannie’s barbecue. Hatcher said individuals from other countries, and places in the U.S. like Texas stop by because they’ve heard of the restaurant.
Hatcher is proud of her mother’s business, and she hopes to see Lannie’s Bar-B-Q continue to feed people of Selma and across the country.
“I just thank the Lord because he’s the one who has kept us in business,” she said. “We could have gone out of business like other places, but the Lord has been good to us.”