Alabama pitmaster Van Sykes of Bessemer’s Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q is one of 10 finalists for the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame.
From those 10 finalists, four will be selected for induction into the 2024 Hall of Fame class.
American Royal will announce this year’s inductees on May 22, along with three legacy inductees who have died.
The American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame is a national organization dedicated to recognizing, documenting and preserving the heritage of barbecue.
Previous Barbecue Hall of Fame inductees from Alabama include Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur (Class of 2016) and the late John “Big Daddy” Bishop of Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Tuscaloosa (Class of 2019).
Also, South Carolina native Rodney Scott, who has two locations of his Rodney Scott’s BBQ in the Birmingham metro area, joined the hall of fame in 2021.
More Alabama BBQ stories by Bob Carlton
The 68-year-old Sykes started working the pits for his father, Bob Sykes, at the family’s Bessemer barbecue joint when he was 12 years old.
Following a stint in the Air Force, he came home in 1976 to help his mother, Maxine Sykes, who had taken over the business after Bob Sykes suffered a stroke, and he has kept the fires burning at the 67-year-old barbecue joint ever since.
In 2015, during the Alabama Tourism Department’s Year of Alabama BBQ campaign, Van Sykes was included in “The Masters of Alabama Barbecue” photo exhibit and featured in the accompanying documentary “Q: Alabama’s Barbecue Legends.”
In addition to Sykes, this year’s other American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame finalists are:
Danielle Bennett, Auburndale, Fla.
Rick Browne, Portland, Ore.
Steve Grady, Dudley, N.C.
Andy Husbands, Andover, Mass.
David Klose, Houston, Texas
Ed Maurin, Kansas City, Mo.
Phillip McClard, Hot Springs, Ark.
Roy Perez, Lockhart, Texas
Malcom Reed, Hernando, Miss.
This year’s inductees will be honored on Nov. 2 during the 44th American Royal World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City, Kansas.
For more information about the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, go here.
