WRITTEN BY BRAD STEVENS | PHOTOS BY JESSE HORTON
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Fresh Air Barbeque
I have very fond memories of eating
Super Pigs from Fincher's with my
grandmother in her shiny beige
1986 Buick Regal, complete with the
Huckabee Bee logo on the front bumper.
My first job out of college was as an
assistant manager at the Houston Road
Fincher's. Being 23 years old at the time,
I saw BBQ as an exemplary weaving of
art and capitalism.
Today's discussion is about Fresh
Air Barbeque. The Jackson location
was founded in 1929 and is the oldest
pit-cooked BBQ in the state still
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fter returning from a
temporary hiatus, I would like
to discuss one of my favorite
subjects on the planet,
Central Georgia's barbeque scene.
Shout out to the lovely Lauren Bone for
covering me in the last edition. Great job!
Your boy has strong ties to the big
three old timey BBQ shops in the area
— Old Clinton, Fincher's and Fresh Air
Barbecue. The closest restaurant to my
childhood home is the legendary Old
Clinton BBQ in Jones County – Clinton,
Georgia.
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Fresh Air is in a
nondescript location
94 maconmagazine.com | October/November 2026
