photograph courtesy leonard's pit barbecue
Why did the chicken cross the road? To save a barbecue restaurant.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken spearheaded the We Pigs LLC group that bought the historic Leonard’s Pit Barbecue three years ago, when it moved to North Germantown Parkway in Cordova, says Gus’s president Wendy McCrory.
Previous owner Dan Brown wanted to sell the restaurant, she says, and when Covid came along, “He was ready to get out of it.”
At the time, McCrory thought, “It’s probably not a good investment. But people-wise, these are amazing individuals.”
hat was important, she says, were “the stories, the history, an opportunity to save jobs for a lot of people who were there a long time.” Like pit master Lyndell Whitmore, who’s worked at Leonard’s for 37 years.
Buying Leonard’s “felt like a heartfelt project as much as anything,” McCrory says. “Everybody going to Leonard’s had a story. We felt it was so important to preserve that for generations to come.”
After he sold the place, “Brown stayed on and helped us for several months to make sure we learned all their recipes. He moved to Pennsylvania to be with his son and granddaughter, but ended up with health issues.” Brown passed away last summer.
They had bought land in Bartlett to build the new Leonard’s while the Fox Plaza location was still open, McCrory says. But the Fox Plaza building was in poor shape, so they leased the former Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders building on Germantown Parkway to house Leonard’s.
photograph by michael donahue
McCrory remembers eating with her parents at the Leonard’s on Fox Plaza, so she was familiar with the restaurant, and she has barbecue with slaw and beans for lunch every week. “It truly reminds me of that real Memphis barbecue,” she says. “It’s almost like an emotional journey, in the best way possible. It evokes a good feeling. It’s the epitome of Memphis comfort food.”
Newspaper clippings on the walls describe the long history of Leonard’s. One photo shows a smiling man resting his head on his hands as he looks at a cake. The caption reads: “Leonard Heuberger, owner of Leonard’s Pit Barbecue at 1140 South Bellevue, yesterday gazed happily at the cake given him by Elvis Presley…. Elvis, a longtime customer of the restaurant, sent the cake to Mr. Heuberger with many happy returns of the day.”
According to another story on the wall, Leonard’s opened in 1922. Heuberger “bartered a Model T Ford for a 7-stool sandwich stand in South Memphis. In 1932, he moved to his 1140 S. Bellevue location, which he enlarged several times over the years as demand grew for his barbecue food specialties. In the 1930s, he offered food delivery by bicycle and pioneered today’s popular take-out and catering services. In the ’40s and ’50s Leonard’s was the world’s largest barbecue restaurant … with 20 carhops serving the daily parade of patrons who parked under the canopies.”
In addition to Elvis, celebrities who visited Leonard’s included the Statler Brothers, Dennis Quaid, Charlie Rich, and Winona Ryder, says Loretta Hopper, 72. Hopper worked for Leonard’s for 54 years until she retired in 2025.
“I was everything from a waitress, cashier, store manager, catering manager, kitchen help — you name it,” she says. Leonard’s was a special place for her. “I was the kid that grew up in South Memphis and it was a highlight to be able to go to Leonard’s.”
photograph by michael donahue
Save room for dessert!
Still making lemon pies for the restaurant, Hopper began making pies 42 years ago for Leonard’s when it was on Bellevue.
The Fox Plaza Leonard’s opened as a second location in August 1987. The Bellevue location closed in July 1991.
“At one time,” says McCrory, “there were 13 locations around the city, and one franchise in Jackson, Tennessee.”
The beloved old neon sign at the Bellevue location, showing a dapper pig in top hat and tails twirling a cane and labeled, “Mr. Brown Goes to Town,” was moved to the Fox Plaza site.
Where is that sign now? “It’s in my warehouse,” McCrory says. There’s no room for it at the current location. But, she says, “The hope is we’re using that sign on a new building somewhere.”
Leonard’s Pit Barbecue, 1100 N. Germantown Parkway
