Rusty's Bar-B-Q and Chalrlie's BBQ win State Tourism contest

Of four St. Clair County-area restaurants that competed to be named one of the best barbecue restaurants in the state, two came out on top — Charlie’s BBQ in Odenville and Rusty’s Bar-B-Q in Leeds.

The Alabama Tourism Department announced winners for The Alabama BBQ Battle on Sept. 1. The contest was a part of the state’s Year of Alabama BBQ, and included five categories of restaurants and 50 contestants competing against each other for the title.  

Rusty’s took first place with nearly 29,000 votes between August 6-31 to win the “Mom ‘N Pops” category. Charlie’s received nearly 13,000 in the “Dives” cate. Both eclipsed the second-place competitor by thousands of votes.

For more on the contest, visit alabamabbqbattle.com. To learn more about your local winners, visit rustysbarbq.com (Rusty’s) and charliesbbq.net (Charlie’s).