A Long-Delayed BBQ Joint in Connecticut Officially Opens Today

Open your car window and take in the sweet smell of hickory-smoked meat along 84 near the 691 interchange in Cheshire/Southington today, or coming down Southington Mountain. Finally, over three years after their second location was announced to the public, Wallingford's Pig Rig BBQ's long-awaited second location is opening up to the public today.

I wrote about Pig Rig's expansion plans way back in December of 2021, at the time it was expected that the new location at 1843 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike in Southington would open sometime in Spring 2022. The new restaurant is located in an old Dunkin' building on Rt. 322 in between the TA Travel Center (Which I still call 76 Truck Stop), and AMC Southington (Which I still call Apple, Regal, or Starplex).

Pig Rig - Wallingford gets good online reviews, it's average on Yelp is a 4.4 out of 5, 4.6 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, and a 3.7 out of 5 on Google. Most of the commenters mention the great smoky flavor, and generous portions, a few negative reviews mention the temperature of the meats or sides was too cold, or too expensive. The menu at Pig Rig BBQ features what you would expect from a BBQ restaurant in 2025- a few varieties of Pulled Pork, Baby Back Rib entrees, Brisket, Burnt Ends, BBQ Chicken, Hummel hot dogs, a few sandwiches, and burgers, with traditional sides like cole slaw, Hickory-smoked mac&cheese, cornbread, collard greens, potato salad, and Cowboy beans.

Why was the second location delayed by three years? Look at the restaurant industry in Connecticut, it's pretty impossible to turn a profit.