History

The History of Lancaster's Big Oak BBQ

Many years ago, in March 1977, Bruce Lancaster and other volunteers from Union Academy began cooking hash and BBQ. They did it as a fund-raiser and hoped for the best. It was sold out in three hours. Through the years at Union Academy and then later as Union Day School, many, many volunteers including parents and students helped to make this fund-raiser a success time after time.

In December of 2001, Union Day School was sold to The Greater Union Church and was renamed Union Christian Day School. When this was done, Bruce knew the school would be okay, so he decided to start his own business. The new business was named “Lancaster’s Big Oak BBQ” because of the large oak tree behind the building. Bruce always had a dream of opening his own BBQ and hash business, and he saw this happen when “Lancaster’s Big Oak BBQ” opened for business on Saturday, May 4, 2002.

Our BBQ is pit cooked and our hash is cooked in black pots. The sauce is vinegar based and is a recipe perfected by our dad, Bruce. He was questioned many times about it, but would never give away or sell his secret, except to his immediate family.

You will find Bruce's three children and their spouses: Betty and Steve Roark, Tommy and Audrey Lancaster, Michael and Cathy Lancaster working there to prepare and serve whenever they are open.

We cook BBQ and hash fresh about every 4-6 weeks. We can also provide large amounts for any event; such as wedding receptions, family reunions or church homecomings. We always try to keep frozen hash, BBQ, and chicken stew between our cooking dates which you can get by calling Betty at 864-426-6555.

Due to complications from surgery, Bruce passed away on November 25, 2007. We, as his family, will continue to live his dream for him by continuing to run “Lancaster’s Big Oak BBQ” in the same way he did for many years. We feel fortunate that he got to live his dream and enjoy it for 5 years. He never let us cook without him and was always there to ensure we did it his way.

Thank you for supporting us all these years. We look forward to serving you with our BBQ and hash for many years to come.