CHARLESTON — The King Street location of Rodney Scott’s BBQ closed at 5 p.m. on May 3, and will remain shuttered “until further notice,” staff confirmed to The Post and Courier.
The closure was due to circumstances that were out of management’s control, operating partner Sam Ayala said in a message to staff.
Known as one of Charleston’s preeminent pitmasters, Rodney Scott first opened his namesake restaurant in 2017, partnering with Nick Pihakis of Jim N’ Nick’s to do so.
At the downtown destination, Scott shares the whole hog cooking traditions he has honed since preparing his first pig at age 11 at his family’s now-famous Hemingway eatery, Scott’s Bar-B-Que.
Rodney Scott shovels out hot coals in his burner at his restaurant, Thursday, August 7, 2025, in Charleston.
In 2018, barely a week after Scott won a James Beard award for Best Chef: Southeast, the pair announced plans to add a second location in Birmingham. They’ve since debuted Rodney Scott’s BBQ outposts across the Southeast under the Pihakis Restaurant Group umbrella. The group also operates other concepts, including Joyland, which shuttered its Charleston location earlier this year.
The closure of the original Rodney Scott’s BBQ at 1011 King St. comes less than a week after the restaurant, the Pihakis Restauraunt Group and other affiliated LLCs were named as defendants in a breach of contract lawsuit filed in Charleston County on April 27.
The lawsuit alleges that plaintiff Itria Ventures agreed to lend $350,000 to borrowers Rodney Scott’s BBQ and RSBBQ Partners. Nick Pihakis, his restaurant and investment groups, and JER Spirits Investments guaranteed the loan and are also listed as defendants.
The borrowers and guarantors failed to pay the lender in accordance with the agreed-upon payment schedule, the lawsuit alleges. It says the total damages it is owed exceed $364,000.
“The wrong partner will set you back financially, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically,” Rodney Scott’s BBQ said.
Ayala declined to provide details about the nature of the closure, but said “we’re hopeful that we’ll come back better and stronger than before.”
No signs of the imminent closure were apparent within the restaurant. Upbeat music blared and a line of customers waited to order their favorite dishes around midday on May 3.
Other establishments associated with the Pihakis Restaurant Group recently have shuttered amid a multi-million dollar lawsuit. At least of the locations reopened within days of the announced closure.
Rodney Scott and Pihakis Restaurant Group creative director Angie Mosier did not immediately respond to The Post and Courier’s requests for comment.
