[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 A TRIBUTE TO SCONYERS BARBECUE RESTAURANT OF AUGUSTA, GEORGIA FOR 50 
               YEARS OF SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY AND SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CHARLIE NORWOOD

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 1, 2006

  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to mark a milestone in 
Southern politics and culture by recognizing the 50th Anniversary of a 
culinary and political tradition in my district--Sconyers Barbecue 
Restaurant of Augusta, Georgia.
  Those outside my region might not be aware of how much a role a 
successful ``barbecue'' plays in Southern hospitality and politics.
  The first thing one needs to understand is that in the South, the 
word itself can be noun, a verb, or an adjective. It is more than food, 
it is a cultural identification, and one that crosses all party lines.
  I don't think there is any better example of this than Larry Sconyers 
and Sconyers Barbecue Restaurant in Augusta, Georgia.
  Sconyers Bar-B-Que was founded 50 years ago in 1956, when Claude and 
Adeline Sconyers could no longer make a living at farming and decided 
to give their hobby a try.
  With all their children but one grown and no one to help them on the 
farm, they opened Sconyers Bar-B-Que on Peach Orchard Road, just about 
a mile from the Tobacco Road of Erskine Caldwell fame. The small 
restaurant was an instant hit, with classically prepared southern 
barbecue.
  Larry Sconyers, Claude and Adeline's youngest son, took over the 
business after the death of his father. Under Larry's direction, the 
hobby grew into a major business in the Augusta area, with a move to a 
larger and more upscale location.
  But Larry wanted to take the traditional southern barbecue to a 
higher level--catering.
  Over the years Sconyers' Bar-B-Que has been served on the White House 
lawn for President Jimmy Carter and members of Congress, in Atlanta at 
the Georgia Capital as well as at many local and state events, 
including my own fundraising barbecues.
  Larry's close ties with political events almost cost us this 
wonderful asset.
  He was enticed to run for office himself, first serving as a Richmond 
County Commissioner from 1991-95, then as the first Mayor of a 
consolidated Augusta-Richmond County--Georgia's second largest city--
until he retired from direct politics in 1998 to return to the barbecue 
business.
  All this isn't just me talking. Sconyer's Barbecue has been featured 
in People's Magazine as one of the top ten Bar-B-Que restaurants in the 
United States.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of the 9th District of Georgia, 
I commend Larry Sconyers, the Sconyers family, and the entire staff, 
past and present, of Sconyers Barbecue for a half-century of service 
and traditional southern hospitality to the people of East Central 
Georgia, the South, and the nation.

                          ____________________