As restaurants across Western North Carolina continue to face significant challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue has emerged as a rare success story in the region’s recovery.
The Waynesville-born business, which has weathered its own trials — including a devastating fire and the impact of the storm — has managed to not only survive but thrive.
Now, as the industry works to regain its footing, Ben’s Backdraft is celebrating a major milestone with the grand opening of its first brick-and-mortar location on Saturday, March 1, marking a new chapter for the barbecue joint that’s long been a favorite on the food truck circuit.
[AFTER HELENE: As Asheville restaurants like Vivian close their doors, what will happen to the city’s culinary magic?]
In 2018, Ben Hooper, owner of Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue, picked up a side gig of small caterings before buying a food trailer three years later. During this time, Hooper was working at several different fire departments after finally getting the gig at Asheville Fire Department. Business for his barbecue joint began expanding faster than he expected, and Hooper decided to move departments to pursue more time with his food trailer.
“And then in the beginning of 2024, I went into business full-time, which was the worst year to do it,” Hooper said.
Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue suffered a setback in July 2024, when one of their primary trailers caught on fire and burnt to the ground the week before a busy time of the year: July 4.
Luckily, they had a second trailer in the works, but it wasn’t completely done yet. About a month later, the truck was back up to full steam and the team was getting geared up for festival season. However, right before one of the biggest festivals of the year, Hurricane Helene swept through Western North Carolina.
[READ MORE: What’s open and safe to do in Asheville after Helene hit Western North Carolina?]
When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue faced one of its toughest challenges yet.
It was fortunate to avoid structural damage, but it came within six inches of being flooded. But instead of waiting for normalcy to return, Hooper and his team sprang into action.
With roads impassable and many still without power or communication, Hooper and his team decided to start giving away food.
“We ordered about $10,000 worth of food, and I looked at my wife and our staff, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to make it out of this, but we’re going to rely on our faith and our community and try to make it through.’”
Donations started pouring in from supporters across the country, and even other barbecue joints.
TMG Pits in Knoxville made a seven-hour drive to bring the team $5,000 worth of supplies. Sweet Lew’s BBQ in Charlotte helped send product through one of its vendors, and Jon G’s Barbecue even brought gas and wood.
Duke Energy reached out, dedicating one of the barbecue trailers to support their crews, while the other continued serving free meals to those in need.
“I don’t know how many thousands of meals we gave out, but we did as much as we could.”
[HELEN'S RESTAURANT: They bought the town’s oldest restaurant and renovated it. Then Helene destroyed it.]
The aftermath of the storm left financial challenges, but it also reinforced the restaurant’s commitment to the community.
In December, Hooper acquired a deal on a brick and mortar off of chance and faith, he said. The building is three times the size of the former commissary. It has indoor and outdoor seating and spacious parking for both of the trailers and customers.
But what sets Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue apart from other barbecue joints? It’s all in the fire.
“We don’t use gas or charcoal — nothing like that on our smokers. It’s strictly all wood-fired,” Hooper said.
That dedication to traditional, wood-fired barbecue sets it apart, earning Ben’s a place among a select group of pitmasters recognized by Truecue, a website that tracks barbecue joints across North Carolina that cook exclusively with wood or charcoal.
Hooper considers himself one of the “young guys” in the business. He gets help from different barbecue joints across the state, including Charlotte-area favorite Jon G’s Barbecue. The Pageland restaurant sold Hopper his first fridge in his trailer.
“We try to use the most simple ingredients we can over all wood and kind of fill in everything else as we can,” Hooper said.
While some menu items require pre-made ingredients — simply because certain things can’t be made using just a smoker — the focus remains on traditional, wood-fired barbecue. That commitment has earned Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue a spot at the Carolina BBQ Festival in Charlotte in April, where the team will join other top pitmasters from across the state.
While Hooper remains optimistic about the future, he knows there are still challenges ahead — not just for his business, but for the entire industry in Western North Carolina.
The new brick and mortar is the very last exit that’s open on Interstate 40. One of the biggest obstacles right now, he said, is the ongoing closure of that interstate, a major traffic artery that has been shut down since Hurricane Helene.
“There’s hundreds of thousands of cars that go through there every day,” Hooper said. “Even if we only got a tenth of a percent of those, that would float our business annually without any advertising whatsoever.”
But at the same time, Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue has such a good local following, he’s not too worried about that.
Instead, Hooper is focused on the road ahead — not just for his business, but for the community as a whole.
“The biggest thing I want to do is kind of get back to that reset from Hurricane Helene — financially, economically — and try my best to take part in helping rebuild the best we can,” he said.
3028 Jonathan Creek Rd, Waynesville, NC 28785
Menu
Cuisine: Barbecue
Hours: Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Instagram: @bensbackdraftbbq1