Brad’s Bar-B-Que

Along US Highway 78 East in Oxford, Alabama, Brad’s Bar-B-Que has been serving smoked pork and fried catfish since 1988, when James and Dorothy “Mama” Bradford opened the original restaurant in Central City, Alabama. The business moved to its current Oxford location in 1997 and changed hands again in January 2026, when former judge Joel Laird bought the restaurant while keeping its traditional recipes in place. The dining room is simple, booth and table seating built for a quick, no-frills lunch or dinner rather than a fine dining experience, and the restaurant still leans on the same “Put the Taste of the South in Your Mouth” line that has described it for decades.

The menu centers on smoked pulled pork barbecue and meaty smoked pork spare ribs, backed up by fried catfish and whiting fillets that have made the restaurant as much a seafood stop as a barbecue one. A pulled BBQ pork plate runs $10.49, a rib plate is $13.95, and a catfish plate comes in at $13.95, with sandwiches priced around $6.99 and combo and plate options that bundle in one or two sides; a whole slab of ribs runs $25.99 and a half slab $13.99, while a pound of pulled pork alone is $14.99. Fried chicken fingers, half chicken plates, and wings, sold anywhere from $5 for a small order up to $25.99 for a large one, round out the menu for guests who want something outside the smoker. A kids menu for guests twelve and under offers a corn dog, hamburger, or chicken fingers with one side for $7.99 to $8.99.

Sides lean into classic Southern barbecue-joint territory: fried okra, baked beans, coleslaw, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, green beans, potato salad, and hushpuppies, sold individually or in larger pint, quart, and gallon sizes for anyone feeding a crowd. Desserts stick to a short, familiar list of pecan pie and lemon pie at $3.59 each, and the restaurant does not serve alcohol, keeping the focus squarely on smoked meat, fried fish, and Southern sides. Family platters built for groups are also on the menu, including wing, rib, and fish platters priced in the $29 to $33 range.

Brad’s keeps a tighter schedule than some of its competitors, open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday. The restaurant does not take reservations, and groups larger than eight are asked to call ahead about seating availability. Pickup orders are available, though the restaurant asks that guests call about twenty minutes ahead so the order is ready when they arrive, and larger orders need additional notice; there is no delivery service. The restaurant accepts both cash and major credit cards, though a 4 percent surcharge applies to card purchases, since menu prices are listed as cash prices, a detail worth knowing before ordering a large family meal.

What sets Brad’s apart in a city with a fairly deep bench of barbecue options is its age and consistency, nearly four decades of continuous operation across two owners and two locations, serving a menu that has not strayed far from its roots even through the recent change in ownership. The restaurant offers free parking and is mobility accessible, making it an easy, low-friction stop for a family lunch or a quick dinner on the way through town. For visitors driving the US-78 corridor through Oxford looking for something other than a national chain, Brad’s Bar-B-Que offers a straightforward, locally rooted alternative built around smoked pork, fried catfish, and classic Southern sides, the kind of restaurant regulars return to precisely because the menu and the approach have not changed much over the years. The Bradford family ran the business for nearly four decades before working closely with the new ownership to transition operations while keeping the recipes and staff intact, and the restaurant’s own history notes it has now served the Oxford community for over 29 years at this particular location, a run built on the same familiar Southern hospitality that generations of families, friends, and travelers have found behind its doors.