Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Hisham’s Palace
Cresson Sanatorium and Prison
Leo The Lion
Deception Pass Bridge
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The cute capybara.
Animal Takeover: Brace Yourself for Adorable Hordes
The Codex Gigas (the Devil’s Bible) open to the portrait of the devil.
Codex Gigas: Who Drew the Devil in This Massive Medieval Bible?
USDA and Washington State agriculture officials tagged this Asian giant hornet. Sept. 10, 2021.
What Ever Happened to the Murder Hornets?
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Arkansas Marianna Jones Bar-B-Q Diner
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

Jones Bar-B-Q Diner

One of the most acclaimed eateries in Arkansas is a two-table diner on the ground floor of a family home.

Marianna, Arkansas

Added By
Rachel Rummel
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Jones’ Bar-B-Q Diner   Mike Norton/CC BY 2.0
  king_llr
Inside shot of a pork sandwich with slaw.   localmustard
Sandwiches are served on white bread and wrapped in tinfoil.   jbrown935
The establishment’s current iteration has been going strong for more than 50 years.   localmustard
Mr. Jones, right; James Beard Award, top left   7lenny7
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  brycecaster
A tray of Jones’ barbecue pulled pork.   simonmajumdar
  lesaispas
  SemiruralYeti / Atlas Obscura User
  ardeltatraveler
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Jones Bar-B-Q, a two-table eatery in the town of Marianna, was the first restaurant in Arkansas to ever receive a James Beard Award. The owners, James and Betty Jones, hadn’t even heard of the awards before winning in the 2012 "America's Classics" category.

The small diner takes up the ground floor of the couple's home. The sign out front reads "since 1964," but the operation dates back to at least 1910. James Jones’s family recipes are the same ones that his grandfather used when he sold barbecued meat out of his home and that his father used when he opened up an earlier iteration of the restaurant, known as "the Hole in the Wall" (so-called because his father served everything through a window).

Today, James runs the pit and restaurant, while a man named Sylvester chops wood and operates the attached smokehouse, which is a shed. Oak and hickory logs burn in a cinderblock barbecue pit, where pork shoulders—the only meat they sell—smoke for 12 hours at a time. Aside from pork by the pound, the menu also includes sandwiches.

The simplicity of the sandwiches reminds diners that perfect barbecue needs no smoke and mirrors, only smoke. Jones dresses the pork with slightly-sweet vinegar sauce and serves it between white bread. Beyond slaw, sides are nonexistent. As for what makes the ’cue so special? Jones’s sauce and slaw recipes are so top-secret, not even his wife knows what's in them.

Related Tags

Barbecue Black History Pork Sandwiches American South Unique Restaurants & Bars

Know Before You Go

The restaurant opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes when it sells out. This could happen at 10:00 a.m., so come early if you want to ensure that there's smoked pork with your name on it.

Community Contributors

Added By

rachelrummel

Edited By

DC Gator, Michelle Cassidy, SemiruralYeti

  • DC Gator
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • SemiruralYeti

Published

September 23, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://roadfood.com/restaurants/jones-bar-b-q-diner/
  • https://www.facebook.com/JonesBarBQDiner
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiny-bar-b-q-restaurant-wins-big-food-award/
  • http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=8032
  • https://www.arktimes.com/RockCandy/archives/2014/02/22/does-jones-bar-b-q-in-marianna-really-deserve-a-james-beard-award
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgq0Rm58sPQ
  • https://gofund.me/7aa26697
Jones Bar-B-Q Diner
219 W Louisiana St.
Marianna, Arkansas
United States
34.768433, -90.765041
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Levon Helm Boyhood Home

Marvell, Arkansas

miles away

Louisiana Purchase State Park

Holly Grove, Arkansas

miles away

Parkin Archeological State Park

Earle, Arkansas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Arkansas

Arkansas

United States

Places 79
Stories 5

Nearby Places

Levon Helm Boyhood Home

Marvell, Arkansas

miles away

Louisiana Purchase State Park

Holly Grove, Arkansas

miles away

Parkin Archeological State Park

Earle, Arkansas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Arkansas

Arkansas

United States

Places 79
Stories 5

Related Stories and Lists

23 of the Most Epic Sandwiches Around the Planet

List

By Diana Hubbell

12 Unique Approaches to Cooking With Fire

List

By Michelle Cassidy

Retro Americana Is on the Menu at These 17 Diners

List

By Diana Hubbell

Get Thee to Totality: Nashville

List

By Atlas Obscura

7 Spots for Sumptuously Smoky Meats and Fish

List

By Diana Hubbell

Gastro Obscura's Top 20 Places to Eat and Drink

List

By Alex Mayyasi

Related Places

  • The humble exterior.

    Jackson, Mississippi

    Big Apple Inn

    This humble hole-in-the-wall is home to an incredible pig ear sandwich and serious civil rights history.

  • This tiny hole-in-the-wall serves one of the world’s most magnificent sandwiches.

    Rome, Italy

    Er Buchetto

    For more than a century, this hole-in-the-wall near Termini Station has been serving what some say is the greatest porchetta sandwich.

  • Tangy and fragrant with hickory smoke, the pulled pork is outstanding.

    Memphis, Tennessee

    Payne’s Bar-B-Q

    Line up for a hickory-smoked BBQ bologna sandwich at this family-run institution.

  • The tempura-fried pork tenderloin is Kitty’s most popular order. The recipe has never been changed since the cafe opened in 1951.

    Kansas City, Missouri

    Kitty’s Cafe

    Savor the famous tempura-fried pork tenderloin sandwich at this long-standing Kansas City food counter.

  • Roasted goose, pork, and other meats are excellent here.

    Hong Kong

    Sun Kwai Heung

    This no-frills joint has some of the most sublime Cantonese barbecue in town.

  • Cakes

    Oakland, California

    It's All Good Bakery

    This bakery sits on the site of the Black Panther Party's first headquarters.

  • Beside the auto shop’s signage.

    Mexico City, Mexico

    El Vilsito

    By night, this auto repair shop turns into a taquería serving up some of the city's finest al pastor tacos.

  • Milford, New Jersey

    The Famous River Hot Dog Man

    The only thing better than tubing down New Jersey's scenic Delaware River is doing so while eating a hot dog from a giant floating stand.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.