Two new barbecue restaurants open in Raleigh

Two long-awaited barbecue joints are now filling the air with smoke in Raleigh — but please don't call the cops on them.

What's happening: Both Longleaf Swine and the BBQ Lab — two restaurants that have been anticipated since before the pandemic — opened their doors to customers in the past week.

Longleaf Swine, the brainchild of Adam Cunningham and Marc Russell, is going into the former Oakwood Cafe space on Edenton Street in downtown.

• Longleaf is traditional North Carolina barbecue at its core, serving whole hog barbecue and stacking wood for smoking out front. It's also selling briskey, pork spare ribs and chicken.
• In the evening, Longleaf adds smashburgers to the mix after selling out of the day's barbecue.

The BBQ Lab, meanwhile, is the first expansion of Benson's Redneck BBQ Lab, which has lured customers from hours away to a gas station off Interstate 40 promising brisket, burnt ends, pulled pork and other exquisitely smoked meats.

• Opened by Jerry Stephenson in 2017, Redneck BBQ made a name for itself with its renditions on regional barbecue delicacies from across the country, like North Carolina pulled pork, Texas brisket and St. Louis ribs.
• Its new location adds a Johnston County twang to North Hills' collection of urban retailers like Warby Parker and Anthropolgie.

Of note: Both restaurants are currently only open Wednesday through Sunday.