Shawn's BBQ

“I thought about barbecue constantly, It was serious. So I said, ‘Well, If I’m going to do this right, I need to make my own barbecue sauce.” ~owner Shawn Moss His first original concoction—the Sweet and Sassy Smokehouse—set the bar for everything that followed. Word of mouth began to spread through the catering rounds, particularly at Culpeper events with his kids. “That was the first time I had people come up to me and say, ‘This is real barbecue, Shawn. You have to open a restaurant.’ The confidence just built from there.” Shawn knew he had something special. His devotion to quality—“The meat has to be the best. I will never compromise on that.”—coupled with a knack for experimenting with bold, exciting flavors led to the first location for Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ in 2013. Shawn opened in Culpeper thanks to the foundation that had been built with early supporters. A second location in Warrenton followed in 2015 and a third in Fredericksburg in the Fall of 2019. In the end, the secret to great barbecue isn’t much of a secret, Shawn said. Get the food right, and the customers will come. Except, as he learned from his mom’s catering business, serving food is also about serving a piece of yourself to others. Shawn’s Smokehouse BBQ is a family affair. Wife Magdalena—or “the real Shawn” because of all she does in the kitchen—and his five children all contribute their own flourishes to his barbecue story. Shawn’s name might be on the restaurant, but his entire family is invested in what it means to be the local spot for great barbecue.