Family legacy at Roy’s Bar-B-Que in Russellville
LEEANN HARRIS WAS 15 when her dad recruited her to help launch the new family restaurant business in 1983. To drum up customers for his new barbecue joint in Russellville, Ralph Morgan stuffed paper sacks with a pound of smoked pork, two kinds of sauce and a pack of buns. He marked each one with information about the new restaurant, named after one of his sons—Roy’s Bar-B-Que.
LeeAnn’s job was to distribute the bags to local businesses and organizations. She was “embarrassed to death,” she remembers, but she smiled and did her best.
Forty-one years later, the restaurant started by Ralph and Jolene Morgan is still going strong, delighting locals and visitors alike with a menu featuring smoked pork, fried catfish and home-cooked favorites like turnip greens, fried cornbread, buttered squash and baked apples—and don’t forget the made-from-scratch desserts. There are also daily specials, and a popular “family pack,” $31.49 plus tax, that sends hungry diners home with a pound and a half of meat, three pint-sized sides, cornbread and buns.
Roy’s is still a family business, owned by siblings Roy Morgan, Kathy Howard and LeeAnn Harris, and their nephew Lee Morgan. Another sibling, Mary Winn, helps manage the restaurant. “It’s the American dream,” Mary says.
Ralph died in 1996, and Jolene in 2011, but their influence lives on. One of Ralph’s slogans still resonates: “The world’s finest people walk through our doors.” Located at 101 Sarah Lane in Russellville, Roy’s Bar-B-Que is open 9 a.m.–7:30 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Sunday.
