Batesburg-Leesville, SC (WLTX) - — For almost four decades, Jackie Hite's Bar-B-Q has been a staple in the town of Batesburg-Leesville.
On Sunday, the Hite family decided to close the restaurant for good.
The restaurant was founded by Jackie Hite and his wife back in 1979. For the next 39 years, Hite and the rest of his family served freshly cooked Bar-B-Q to Batesburg-Leesville residents.
When Hite passed away in 2016, his wife Mickie and his children took over the business. The restaurant is closing two years to the day that Jackie was buried.
"Mom has run the restaurant for two years without him," says Kim Hite-Sanders, who is Jackie's daughter. "About a month ago, she came to us daughters and said it was time to close it, the restaurant has been an important part of Batesburg-Leesville for a long time, mom and Daddy have done some good things for a lot of people.”
One of those people was Tim Hyman, who worked at the restaurant for over 30 years.
"Everybody became family, several people worked 20-30 years here and everybody just enjoyed coming to work," Hyman said. "I'm going to miss seeing the people enjoying the food, seeing the same people everyday, I just won’t be able to see that anymore.”
In its last day of service, the restaurant served over 200 customers.