Jacky Poole’s restaurant is one of thousands along the spance of Highway 80 that treks more than 2,000 miles, but thanks to the most recent edition of RV View it’s one of the most famous.
Demopolis’ Smokin’ Jack’s Barbecue was featured as one of four “must stop” eateries along the highway as the magazine traveled a segment of the road from Alabama to the Georgia coast.
“I was surprised, really,” Poole said of his learning of the article. “I don’t remember talking to anyone about the article. I guess they stopped in here and liked what they had enough to remember me.”
In all, only four restaurants were featured in the Alabama to Tybee Island drive; two in Alabama and two in Georgia. One of the Georgia stops was Paula Deen’s The Lady and Sons, in Savannah.
“To be right there with Paula Deen, that kind of makes you feel good,” Poole said. “Everybody knows who that is.”
The piece, which was published this month, was the final of four segments as the writer, Pam Selbert, traveled via motor home from San Diego, Calif. to Tybee Island, Ga.
“…[The] series of four features on Historic Old U.S. 80 starts us on a year-long journey along this immensely scenic route, with a little history of the old road tossed in for good measure as we trace the path of the road that linked the East and West Coasts before the first interstate highways were constructed,” she wote in the February 2010 edition, which was the first leg of the journey.