42 years later: Roy’s BBQ changes hands
One of Hutchinson’s famed Barbecues has changed ownership effective July 1, 2024.
Kirk Johnson has been eating at Roy’s Hickory Pit BBQ for years and has been a long-time customer of the restaurant. He said he and Anne Armstrong, one of the owners of the BBQ, had informal conversations on her timeline with the business.
“That conversation has been going on for seven or eight years,” Johnson said.
Anne and her husband Mike Armstrong have owned and operated the restaurant for 42 years, beginning back in 1982. Mike Armstrong passed away in 2007, leaving Anne and their son Ryan to run the restaurant.
Johnson’s family purchased the R-B Drive In in 2016 and kept the burger joint true to its 76-year history.
As for the BBQ, Johnson said his plans are similar to his handling of R-B.
“What works, you keep doing,” Johnson said. “I’ve always believed that in the institution of businesses such as Roy’s and certainly the R-B, you’re a caretaker. We feel we’re the caretakers of a beloved institution and brand. If we can find opportunities to make a customer’s experience better, we’ll look at those, but our viewpoint is do what you do and do it well.”
Johnson said Anne Armstrong has retired and is ready to move on to the next phase of her family’s life.
During the first week of business under Johnson, he said the BBQ has been very successful with familiar and new faces.
“The second day we owned it, we were visited by the great-granddaughter of Roy and Alta Fry, who lives in North Carolina,” Johnson said. “I noticed at least eight different states where customers came to visit.”
The BBQ is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “or until food is gone” and is located at 1018 Nickerson Blvd.