A family-owned barbecue restaurant is set to open a location at the former site of Pop’s, the beloved eatery in York County.
Pop’s Drive-In in Grafton closed its doors in March after nearly 50 years in business. During the last few days of business, loyal patrons gathered at the restaurant to say goodbye to the community staple.
Now, plans are underway to make the former Pop’s building a Q Daddy’s Pitmaster BBQ location.
Joy Witten Andrus, the Community Relations Director for Q Daddy’s, is also a member of the family that owns the business. She says barbecue food is part of the family’s tradition.
“Our dad taught us how to cook barbecue the way he liked it done. He was kind of the inspiration behind a lot of the recipes and the craft. My brother and sister and I, and our mom, opened Q Daddy's in 2017 in Smithfield,” said Andrus.
There’s now a Q Daddy’s in both Smithfield and Wakefield. Andrus says the Pop's site and its surrounding area is similar to the two locations due to its small-town charm.
A realtor gave them a heads-up that the property in York County would be for sale. The family also got in touch with the Allen family, who owned Pop’s.
“We had a really interesting and immediate connection with them. Because [of the] similarities of our stories: a second generation place, family-owned, all the kids, the siblings, the parents, putting their shoulder to the wheel and making it go,” Andrus added.
The family says they’re going to continue the legacy that the Allen family set in motion when serving the Grafton community.
Q Daddy's says they are working with an architect to make some changes to the building and it could take up to a year for the renovations.
