Header photo by Jonathan Boncek
For more than two decades, Home Team BBQ has been a staple of the local dining scene, serving up some of Charleston’s most beloved flavors: smoked wings, nachos smothered with pulled pork or brisket, and perhaps the most indulgent of items on the menu–the Gamechanger–a boozy frozen cocktail that’s earned its own cult following.
And while the food is informed by classical technique and barbecue traditions from across the American South, the regulars at Home Team BBQ keep coming back for the hospitality and deep-rooted community spirit that’s been on the menu since day one.
We sat down with Founder + Pitmaster Aaron Siegel to hear more about what it means to say “everybody’s welcome”, how investing in community is good for business, and which sauce is actually the best.
Q&A with Aaron Siegel
Home Team BBQ, downtown Charleston | Photo by Jonathan Boncek
Operating partners (L–R) Sean, Taylor, Aaron and Tony | Courtesy of Home Team BBQ
Twenty years is a remarkable milestone. Congrats! Home Team has always felt like more than a barbecue restaurant. What did you hope to create when you first opened your doors, and how has that vision evolved over the past two decades?
We wanted to create a place where people could hang out and have a good time doing the things we like to do. We love barbecue, we love live music, we love college football, and we love throwing a good party and getting people together. But we wanted to build something that was more than just a place to get good barbecue. The community really helped us with that. How the space has evolved comes down to how they use it. It’s a date, a family gathering, a football Sunday, a birthday dinner.
Southern hospitality is at the heart of Home Team. What does hospitality mean to you, and how do you hope guests feel when they walk through your doors?
The ultimate thing is when a place feels like yours. When you have some possession over it, you claim it as your own, it becomes a place of comfort, and you have confidence you’ll be treated well and the food will be good every time. You’ve really succeeded in hospitality when your restaurant makes people feel great. Our participation in the community enlightens all of that. It goes beyond the four walls of the restaurant.
“You’ve really succeeded in hospitality when your restaurant makes people feel great.”
Aaron Siegel
Aaron Siegel and Taylor | Courtesy of Home Team BBQ
Frozen drinks | Photo by Maison Dube
Home Team has become deeply woven into the communities you serve. Why has investing in those communities always been such an important part of your story?
That came with growth. It wasn’t something we started out with. When you start a business, you’re just trying to figure out how to make it work: your process, how to pay your bills, how to make money. You don’t have the time or the money to give back. Once we started growing, we could see how we could impact certain charities, and it became something we did. We look around now and we don’t take for granted our ability to help, because it wasn’t always like this. We try to keep fulfilling that opportunity we’ve been given, to give back and amplify causes that are important to us and the people in our community.
If someone had never been to Home Team before, what’s the one dish that tells your story best, and why?
Probably the nachos, because they embody every aspect of what we do with barbecue. When we started out, we were intentional about applying some of what we had learned about authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking. The nachos didn’t come along until we got to Sullivan’s Island, but we developed the smoked corn salsa verde before we even opened. We wanted to use the smoker for more than pork butts and ribs, so we started experimenting. We like to take something traditional and make it our own. The nachos are Tex-Mex, Southern cuisine, and comfort food all at once.
Nachos | Photo by Jonathan Boncek
When people leave Home Team, what do you hope they remember most?
Leaving ready to come back. That it felt really good to eat that food and drink those drinks with the people I was with, and I can’t wait to do it again. If your kids like a restaurant and you like a restaurant, you’re going to that restaurant all the time, and that’s the greatest thing. You become part of the fabric.
Fiery Ron’s Smoked Chicken Wings | Photo by Maison Dube
Wing dunk | Photo by Maison Dube
Spill it: mustard, vinegar, or tomato (sauce, that is)?
The most useful aspect of a barbecue sauce is the acid and the balance it creates with proteins that have a high fat content. That’s what we’re all about, whether it’s a salsa, a dressing, or a barbecue sauce. It’s all meant to balance. I’m really partial to our Pepper Vinegar, it’s what we add to our pulled pork. Vinegar in barbecue is really the active ingredient that smooths the meat out, so they all get the job done.
Can’t get to Charleston for a taste? Never fear! You can enjoy Home Team BBQ in Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina, and Aspen, Colorado. Follow along at hometeambbq.com and @hometeambbq.
