The Bessinger's legacy began more than half a century ago when Joseph "Big Joe" Bessinger, the family patriarch and father of owner Thomas Bessinger, opened his first restaurant in Holly Hill, S.C. In 1946, when Thomas turned 14, he was introduced to the family business and went to work at his dad's restaurant, Eat at Joe's, which sat on the main highway connecting Orangeburg and Charleston, S.C. Thomas spent many an afternoon after school cooking and prepping tasty barbeque sandwiches, and learning the family's secret recipes, which he would later reintroduce when opening his own restaurant.

After Interstate 26 was built, fewer and fewer people traveled the highway which was home to Eat at Joe's, so some of the family members packed up and moved to historic Charleston. In 1958, after a stint in the military, Thomas came home to Charleston and helped one of his brothers run his newly-opened Piggy Park barbeque restaurant on Rutledge Avenue. Thomas found that he had ambitions of his own, and just two years later in 1960, he opened the restaurant that today is known as Bessinger's Barbeque.

From the beginning, Bessinger's was a "happening" joint and in the 60s offered curbside service, which was so popular at the time. Over the years, Bessinger's has grown with the times, adding its Southern Buffet in 1975 and a drive-through in 1980.

Today, with sons Tommy and Michael by his side as co-owners, Thomas has built a successful operation that brings many Charles-tonians back to the restaurant they fondly remember as children. The same flavorful, aromatic barbeque and famous mustard-based sauce that his dad created so many years ago is still cooking slowly in the wood-burning pit, reminding customers just how high Bessinger's has raised the bar in barbeque.