Why Abe’s BBQ Is a Mississippi Delta Landmark
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 20 February 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, Clarksdale, Mississippi is known for blues music and Delta history. It is also home to one of the most beloved barbecue restaurants in the state. Abe’s BBQ has been serving smoked meat for generations, drawing locals and travelers who come looking for Mississippi barbecue done right. Our American Stories regular contributor, Jesse Edwards, shares the story of how a small Delta joint became part of Mississippi lore.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed human. |
| 0:14.2 | And we continue here on our American stories. |
| 0:17.5 | We're a bit spoiled in this country when it comes to food, especially barbecue. |
| 0:22.2 | Here's Jesse. |
| 0:23.9 | Abe's Barbecue in Clarksdale, Mississippi is one of those places that instantly takes you back to a time and place that stays original in some of the best ways possible. |
| 0:36.2 | Hold pork, tamales, fried chicken, an unforgettable, subtle barbecue sauce. |
| 0:46.3 | It all started here in 1924, founded by Abraham Davis. |
| 0:51.3 | I was hoping you to have a good question. |
| 0:53.3 | I'll try to do that. I'm not as good as my dad. This is Pat Davis. I was hoping you'd have any questions. I'll try to do that. |
| 0:54.8 | I'm not as good as my dad. |
| 0:56.3 | This is Pat Davis, |
| 0:57.9 | Abraham's grandson, |
| 0:59.7 | and the current owner of Abe's Barbecue. |
| 1:02.6 | My grandfather was an immigrant from Lebanon. |
| 1:06.2 | Came over around 1900. |
| 1:08.6 | He was 14 years old. |
| 1:10.6 | And he came with his two younger siblings |
| 1:12.6 | that was it in the bottom of a freighter I guess or with the cows and the goats |
| 1:19.1 | and the bottom he would go upstairs and get food and bring it down to his younger |
| 1:22.5 | brother sister then he somehow got to North Mississippi I't know. I don't know how that happened. |
| 1:31.6 | As he got a little bit older, he started peddling to the farm workers on horseback. He'd take them linen and socks, |
... |
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