Mike Wilson, the legendary Alabama pitmaster and founder of the Saw’s BBQ empire, has passed away. Wilson died “over the weekend,” according to Sam Pittinos, a bartender at Saw’s Juke Joint in Birmingham’s Crestline neighborhood.
“I hate to have to say it, but he passed away over the weekend. We’re going to miss the man; we’re praying for his family,” Pittinos told AL.com Monday morning. “The man put out some fantastic barbecue and we’re going to miss him.”
Pittinos said he did not have information about the cause of death or funeral arrangements.
Taylor Hicks, the Birmingham native and American Idol winner who was a close friend and business associate of Wilson’s, provided a statement on Wilson’s passing from “the Saws BBQ and Post Office Pies family” on Monday.
“Mike never met a stranger, and always found common ground with everyone about food, music and fun. Everyone was welcome in his world and in his restaurants. He loved music and food almost as much as he did his two beautiful children,” the statement said.
“The ’Son of Southern BBQ’ (better known as Sorry A[**] Wilson) and his recipes will live on and be enjoyed for generations to come, and his legacy will live on in his children, restaurants and recipes. Forever, he will be greatly missed.”
Wilson was raised in Charlotte, N.C., but he spent most of his adult life in the Birmingham area, where he earned a reputation as one of Alabama’s most celebrated hog-smokers, despite the fact that he made distinctly Carolina-style barbecue.
He opened the first Saw’s BBQ location in Homewood in 2009 after establishing a local reputation as a master barbecue chef.
The restaurant was an instant hit, and there are now four brick-and-mortar Saw’s locations in the Birmingham area. Saw’s barbecue sauce is also a popular offering at grocery stores.
Saw’s is an acronym for Wilson’s nickname in high school, “Sorry A** Wilson.” He said in a June 2009 interview with AL.com that he first began making barbecue with friends in high school and that he considered the Saw’s name the perfect fit for “a product developed over the course of so many good times with good friends of days gone by.”
Over the 11 years since Wilson – who was 35 years old at the time of the 2009 interview – opened the first Saw’s location, his beloved barbecue has won numerous awards and has been named the best barbecue in America by publications including Paula Deen Magazine and Men’s Journal.
“I believe in the old, traditional way (of barbecuing),” Wilson said in the 2009 interview. “Since I grew up in North Carolina, it’s usually hickory wood and the vinegar-based sauce. You just kind of let it cook slow and low. It takes a while.”