About Us

Kentucky Greg's Hickory Pit - Depew
"A BBQ Restaurant"

Kentucky Greg's Hickory Pit is the result of a life-long dream and passion of Greg Engelhardt. Greg began his career in the restaurant industry after receiving a Bachelors degree in business from the University of Kentucky in 1983. During the next ten years, Greg gained extensive experience in all aspects of the restaurant industry.

In 1994, Greg was anxious to start seeing his dream become a reality and having found his partner and wife, Pam, Greg engineered the start of the Hickory Pit by converting an old motor home into a barbeque stand selling his barbecued food in the back of a gas station parking lot in West Palm Beach Florida. Pam stood in the middle of the busiest intersection nearby to pass out menus to cars stopped at red lights. Within two years, Greg was serving over one hundred people a day with many repeat customers. His vision becoming reality, he was ready to open a restaurant.

With Pam's hometown being Alden NY, she knew that barbequed food was scarce in the Buffalo area at that time. Confident that the Southern foods and casual atmosphere would be readily accepted, Pam and Greg selected WNY as the home for their new restaurant.

Kentucky Greg's Hickory Pit located at 2186 George Urban Blvd., Depew, N.Y. started in 1997, as a 70-seat restaurant featuring Authentic Southern cuisine served in the casual but fun atmosphere Greg envisioned. With the combination of Southern Blues and Jazz music playing in the background along with the folksy decor, and the smell of the savory meats slowly smoking over a hickory wood fire, the customer is engaged in a relaxing and fulfilling dining experience. The menu's signature items are the moist and flavorful meats, homemade side orders and a greeting by Greg in his thick Southern accent help to create a unique dining experience.

Kentucky Greg's Hickory Pit - Orchard Park "A BBQ Joint"

Opened in 2008, Kentucky Greg's Hickory Pit - Orchard Park is located at 2911 Southwestern Boulevard in Orchard Park between the intersections of Michael and Angle Roads less than 5 miles from Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills. Expanding on the original vision, this location, their second restaurant, is also operated by both Greg and Pam. Like their Depew location, it also offers a casual, barbecue restaurant featuring the same high quality food in generous portions.

In the South, barbeque locations are akin, to small social centers and Kentucky Greg's in Orchard Park seeks to mimic this experience through the choice of an open kitchen, self-service ordering, and community seating. Like Depew, this restaurant sports a casual atmosphere with decor centered on a Southern Blues theme. Here, at Kentucky Greg's in Orchard Park, Greg designed his kitchen capitalizing on the open hospitality between our customers and staff while also facilitating quick service for the customer.

Many of our customers in Depew expressed a genuine interest about the smoking process, the type of wood used, and more. In response, Greg doing much of the construction himself built his smoker where everyone could see the process. In addition, eight barstools arranged at the counter will give barbeque connoisseurs a diner experience, and close-up view as well as the opportunity to ask questions and talk "shop" with our employees. We hope you find this dining experience fun and memorable.