Columbus Ranks In Top 25 Cities For Barbecue Nationwide

COLUMBUS, GA:Columbus has seen itself transition into one of Georgia's top dining destinations in recent years. As local startups have opened and offered a wide variety of food for the Fountain City's tastebuds, one unique sector of Columbus dining has been barbecue and a recent study by Apartmentguide.com shows that Columbus is one of the top cities for barbecue in the nation and home to a wide assortment of barbecue restaurants.

While many think of locations like Memphis, Austin, or St. Louis as the top barbecue destinations in the country, Columbus has a little something unique of its own going on. The rich and robust flavors of local favorites like Country's BBQ, Chester BBQ, 13th Street BBQ, Wynnton Pit BBQ, and dozens of others that dot this city have resulted in Columbus being named as one of the top 25 cities for barbecue restaurants in the United States.

According to Apartmentguide.com, their research took them to more than 6,300 communities across the United States in search of barbecue establishments. The research allowed Apartmentguide.com to calculate the percentage of barbecue establishments to the total number of restaurants in each community and determine the cities with the highest ratio of BBQ restaurants.

Columbus was ranked number 21 on the list. The research showed that 7.40% of restaurants in the city limits of Columbus are barbecue restaurants. That ratio means that with Columbus' population coming in at 194,160 residents, there are 13.14 barbecue restaurants for every 100,000 people in the city.

The only city in Georgia with a higher ratio was the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna, which ranked 9th on the list. In the city of Smyrna, 8.90% of restaurants are barbecue businesses. The city has a population of 56,706 residents. Other Georgia cities that made the list were Albany at #31, Marietta at #37 and Macon at #42.

Across the river, in Alabama, the city of Decatur located near Huntsville was ranked at #6. The city of 54,264 residents has 22.11 barbecue joints for every 100,000 residents in the city or about 9.77% of their local restaurants are barbecue businesses. Other Alabama cities that made the list include Birmingham at #23, Montgomery at #25 and Mobile at #40.

The top barbecue destination in America was listed at Memphis, Tennesse with 12.09% of its total restaurants coming in as barbecue restaurants. Carrying a population of 650,618 residents that means that there are 21.83 barbecue restaurants per 100,000 residents in the city.

Columbus barbecue has been in the national spotlight before. In 2007, Chester's BBQ which has locations on Veterans Parkway, as well as Northstar Drive, won a Steve Harvey Hoodie Award for best BBQ in the nation. Chester's continues to be one of the Fountain Cities top BBQ destinations.

Columbus' diverse selection of barbecue businesses also means the city has a wide selection for local tastebuds with numerous styles of sauces being located in the city to include vinegar and mustard-based sauces as well as less traditional sauces such as Alabama White Sauce. Columbus diners now have a chance to embark on some of the best barbecue selections in the United States right in our own back yard.

A complete list of the top 50 destinations can be found at this link