Historic King's Barbecue is closing in Virginia. The owners want you to know why: 'It's not fair'

PETERSBURG, Va. — After nearly 80 years of serving barbecue in the Tri-Cities, the owners of King's Barbecue in Petersburg announced this week the restaurant would close its doors.

"It is with a heavy heart to announce that we are stepping away from the restaurant business for an undetermined amount of time," restaurant owners posted on social media. "Our last day will be Saturday, June 17th 2023."

But why?

Alicia Keeler, granddaughter of restaurant founder John King, and her husband Matt Keeler said stepping away from the business was something they don't want to do, but something they felt like they had to do.

While their restaurant survived changes with the COVID-19 pandemic, the long days and long nights have caught up with their bodies and minds.

"You fight that. You want to go on. But you know, your body just can't do it," Matt Keeler said. "[It's] the hardest decision we ever had to make. Just pure heartache. It really is not that we don't want to do the restaurant anymore. It's more of our, our body and our minds don't want to keep going."

Keeler, who has been in the family business for more than two decades performs just about every job at the restaurant while working 80-plus hours a week.

"I see Matt come home after working from like, 4:30 in the morning till 9 at night and I see him suffering," his wife Alicia said. "He's doing it all for me and to keep this place going and you know, it's not fair to him."

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King's has countless loyal customers and employed a dedicated staff over the decades. That has made the decision to close even harder, but a decision the Keelers have deemed necessary.

"At this time, we would probably be passing this along to another generation so we could take a little bit of break and breather," Matt Keeler said. "But, unfortunately, there's no fourth generation and we want to keep this in the family."

For that reason, the closing of King's may not be a final goodbye, but rather a see you in a little while.

"Think of this as like an extended vacation for us," Alicia Keeler said. "We have to lock the door in order to take a break."

To that end, the Keelers do not plan to sell the business or the building.

They said they'd still be making barbecue sauce and selling it online to fans at home and across the country.

"In some capacity, we will be back."

This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.