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If you didn’t know Big Ed’s Chicken Pit was at 105 W. Peachtree Drive in High Point, you might miss it.

It is obscured by several buildings on North Main Street, right behind Company’s Coming and across from Arby’s. The building itself appears small, but inside, you find a lot of big things are going on in the way of food and hospitality.

Clay and Beth Jones opened Big Ed’s about 10 years ago. Both had experience in business and food service and met through mutual friends at a restaurant where she worked.

Most of his adult life, Clay Jones had managed his Dad’s pro shop and golf course, Hillcrest Golf Club in Winston-Salem, a family business since 1931. His dad told him he was thinking about selling the course in 2003 and asked Clay Jones what he thought he might want to do in the future.

Clay Jones had run the grill at the golf course, so he started thinking about opening a restaurant. He and his brother talked about opening a restaurant together.

Clay Jones grew up in Julian, and there was a small restaurant in nearby Cool Springs known for its fried chicken. Everyone in the area loved that fried chicken. He had taken his wife there several times. He knew he wanted chicken on his menu when he opened a restaurant in the future.

The couple just happened to ride by the building in High Point one day and see the “for rent” sign. The building was known for many years as Brothers’ Barbecue and had an open pit in the back for cooking. The pit was closed and filled in when the restaurant was sold.

Before opening the building in January of 2000, the Joneses did a complete remodeling. Clay Jones worked with Jay Vincent, a friend and contractor for seven months.

They had booths — maple and red oak — milled and brought in. The walls are rough cedar.

On the last day when Beth Jones was hanging things on the wall, she noticed a tennis shoe with the toes blown out hanging above a picture of Big Ed — Beth Jones’ dad, Ed Smothers — as a little boy. Vincent had put his work shoe on the wall, and the Joneses decided to leave it there.

The inside of Big Ed’s Chicken Pit is decorated with personal family memorabilia, such as pictures and signs. It has a nice family feel. There are pictures of Ed Smothers as a boy. A pair of snowshoes, magazine and newspaper articles about the restaurant. Other family pictures also decorate the walls.

Beth Jones wanted the restaurant to take customers back in time. Most of the pictures are black and white. There are pictures of her great-grandparents and one of Clay Jones’ great-grandfather in a pumpkin cart on the golf course.

Another personal aspect of the restaurant is the family recipes. Beth Jones had her grandmother’s recipe book with more than 300 recipes from the 1930s and ’40s.

Beth Jones spent several years working with her grandmother’s cake recipes to perfect them for the restaurant. Now, the desserts are one of their biggest selling items. At first, Beth made only layer cakes, but it was hard to keep up with customer demand. She started using a “hotel pan” to take care of the large number of cakes sold each day. The Mounds, white chocolate, Cinnabun and strawberry cakes are some of the best sellers.

For the first two years the restaurant was open, Beth and Clay Jones did all the work. Beth Jones’ mother, Becky Smothers — High Point’s mayor — was not in office at that time so she worked also.

Smothers made all the slaws, cakes and hamburger steak, Beth Jones said. Whatever needed to be done, she pitched in and did.
Clay Jones said he orders more than 1,960 pounds of chicken a week. When Big Ed’s first opened, it was the only wing place in High Point. Today, there are seven or eight others.

Clay Jones is quick to point out that Big Ed’s isn’t just a wings place — they do all types of food. All of the food is cooked from scratch.

Big Ed’s is one of the few places to prepare chopped chicken barbecue. It has no fat in it because the skin is removed.

It took Beth Jones 10 months to perfect her barbecue sauce. Meatloaf, chicken pie and chicken salad also are included on the menu.

Chef Dave Andrews, who trained at Johnson and Wales Culinary School, and Jeff Hutcherson also work with the Joneses. “These two have really contributed to our success,” Clay Jones said.

The couple also does catering under the name of E. Ellington. They work with several companies during the International Home Furnishings Market and cater all year.

Clay Jones is excited about the new menus he is developing. The average price of their lunch menu is $5.25 to $5.50, while the dinner meal is a little more. Everything is made fresh daily. They offer regular specials. They also are changing the appearance of the menus, adding pictures and drawings of the food.

Beth Jones said working together is cool. She loves cooking and the creative aspect of the menu. She also enjoys watching a new customer develop into a regular.

“I feel that we are like the 'Cheers’ bar on TV, where everybody knows your name,” she said.

Big Ed’s will be selling food at the High Point Beach Music Blast from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday through Oct. 1. The concerts are at 1525 N. Main St. Tickets are $5, and the proceeds go to the Children’s Home Society.

If you have news of High Point, please contact me at mjohnson2@triad.rr.com