Charles “Charlie” Stamey

Charles “Charlie” Stamey dedicated his life to preserving and advancing one of North Carolina’s most iconic barbecue traditions through Stamey’s Barbecue, a family business synonymous with authentic Lexington-style barbecue. Born in 1934, Stamey was the son of legendary pitmaster C. Warner Stamey, who founded Stamey’s in 1930 and helped popularize wood-cooked Lexington-style barbecue across the Piedmont.

After graduating from Wake Forest College and serving four years in the United States Navy, Charlie returned home to continue the family business. In 1957, his father handed him operation of the Greensboro restaurant, where Charlie spent the next four decades carrying on the traditions that made Stamey’s a North Carolina institution. Alongside his brother, Keith, he helped expand the family business while remaining committed to the restaurant’s original methods of slow-cooking pork over hardwood hickory coals.

Known for his humility, work ethic and dedication to quality, Stamey helped preserve the authenticity of Lexington-style barbecue during a time when many restaurants moved away from traditional pit cooking methods. Under his leadership, Stamey’s became known not only for its barbecue, but for its hospitality, consistency and lasting impact on North Carolina barbecue culture.

Stamey remained deeply connected to the restaurant and the barbecue community throughout his life. In 2024, he was inducted into the North Carolina Barbecue Hall of Fame in recognition of his decades of contributions to barbecue tradition and heritage. His legacy lives on through the generations of the Stamey family who continue serving barbecue in Greensboro today.