Since 1960
Smokin' since the sixties.
A lil’ BBQ joint on the corner of Atkinson & Loeb in Henderson’s East End, and a proud stop on the West Kentucky BBQ Belt. Every cut is smoked over hickory in a pit in the middle of the restaurant, pulled by hand and dipped to order.
Hickory onlyThe story
From the Willetts to the Gibsons
Thomason’s opened under a different name by the Willetts and passed through the Roysters and the Thomasons before Frank Gibson and his family took it over in 1994. Frank, a former diesel mechanic, apprenticed under the previous owners to learn every trick of the trade.
Today the father-son team of Frank and Kevin Gibson honor the past — same pit, same Original Dip — while adding new things like KG’s Sweet Sauce, Bourbon BBQ Sauce and the Oink bakery next door.
We’re mostly carry-out, but there are five booths inside (some say small, we say cozy) and two picnic tables out front. Stop in, say hi, and tell us where you travelled in from.
- 1960The pit is lit in Henderson
- 1994Frank Gibson takes over
- TodayFrank & Kevin, Oink Bakery, bottled sauces, banquet hall
The Thomason's way
Three things we will never change
Hickory. Only hickory.
The pit sits in the middle of the dining room and burns hickory all day. No gas, no pellets, no shortcuts. You will smell it from the parking lot.
Pulled by hand
Pork butts come off the bone by hand, never machine-chopped. Chip is the bark of pork and mutton, chopped and soaked in dip — a Thomason's original.
The Original Dip
Tangy, peppery, unchanged since 1960. It goes on the meat at the counter and into bottles for your kitchen. Award-winning, still made in-house.
The pit crew
A family joint, still
Frank runs the pit the way he learned it. Kevin runs the front, the bottled sauces and Oink next door. Everyone else is family by now.
Frank Gibson
Pit Master · owner since 1994A former diesel mechanic who apprenticed under the previous owners and never left the pit.
Kevin Gibson
Second generation · sauces & OinkBehind KG's Sweet Sauce, the Bourbon BBQ Sauce, the online store and the bakery next door.
"When you think bar-b-q… think Thomason's."Henderson, Kentucky · Est. 1960
Everyone's welcome
Our promise
We value all employees, job candidates and customers as unique individuals, and we welcome the variety of backgrounds and experiences they bring to our family-owned BBQ joint. We have a strict non-discrimination policy: everyone is treated equally regardless of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, language, religion, age, disability, marital status or any other protected characteristic.