SWEET AUBURN BARBECUE FIRES UP THE MCDONOUGH BBQ & BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL

SWEET AUBURN BARBECUE FIRES UP THE MCDONOUGH BBQ & BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL THIS OCTOBER

The Hsu Siblings Return to Their Henry County Roots for An Afternoon of Barbecue, 

Live Music, Family-Friendly Activities and Friendly Competition

ATLANTA GA (September 17, 2026) - Sweet Auburn Barbecue is bringing the smoke home. On Saturday, October 10, sibling owners Howard and Anita Hsu will host the inaugural McDonough BBQ & Bluegrass Festival from noon to 4 p.m. at Sweet Auburn Barbecue’s McDonough location in Henry Town Center.

The festival will bring together barbecue restaurants, pitmasters and pop-ups from across Georgia, each serving a menu created for the occasion. The lineup includes Sweet Auburn Barbecue, Terminus City Barbecue, Dhaba BBQ and NO Sauce Smokehouse.

Sweet Auburn Barbecue will serve Chinese Spare Ribs, Wu Tang Wings, Smoked Braised Brisket and Smokehouse Fried Rice. Dhaba BBQ will bring its Indian-inspired approach to the smoker with Tandoori Chicken Sandos, Tikka Pulled Pork and Nihari Oxtails. Terminus City Barbecue, the Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue concept, will serve Chopped Smoked Pork, BBQ Chicken Fritters and Potato Salad. NO Sauce Smokehouse will round out the lineup with its Sloppy Toppy Sandwich, Lobster Mac and Hot Honey Smoked Wings.

Guests can taste their way through the festival before casting their vote in the People’s Choice competition to crown a festival favorite. Dusty Roads will perform live bluegrass throughout the afternoon, with Jason “JT” Thompson serving as the festival MC. Family-friendly attractions will include a Kids Zone, a fire engine and a lineup of local vendors. Select ticketed guests will also have the chance to take home prizes throughout the day.

For Howard and Anita, hosting the festival in McDonough is a return to where their family’s restaurant story began. Their parents opened Hunan Village in Henry County in 1980, the county’s first Chinese restaurant, establishing roots in the community that have now spanned more than four decades. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Howard and Anita continued the family tradition by opening their first restaurant, Gezzo’s, in McDonough. Sweet Auburn Barbecue later began with a food truck and a stall inside Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn Curb Market before the Hsu's opened the restaurant’s Poncey-Highland flagship in 2014. In December 2022, they brought Sweet Auburn Barbecue back to Henry County with the opening of its second location in McDonough.

“Anita and I didn’t just grow up in Henry County. We grew up in its restaurants,” says Sweet Auburn Barbecue co-owner Howard Hsu. “Our parents put us to work early, and that’s where we learned how food can bring an entire community together. We invited some pitmasters we really respect to come cook with us, and we’re going to let everyone eat, listen to some great music and argue over who makes the best barbecue. That sounds like a pretty great Saturday to me.”

The McDonough location combines traditional Southern barbecue with the Asian influences and family traditions that have shaped Sweet Auburn Barbecue from the beginning. Those roots can be found in dishes including the pimento cheese wontons, brisket egg rolls and Smokehouse Fried Rice, all inspired in part by the flavors and food Howard and Anita grew up around at Hunan Village.

“One of the best parts of being in the restaurant business is having the opportunity to support other people,” says Sweet Auburn Barbecue co-owner Anita Hsu. “There is so much talent in this lineup, and every team has worked hard to create food that is completely their own. We get to share that with Henry County, celebrate the people behind it and have a lot of fun along the way. If everyone leaves full and finds a new favorite, we’ve done our job.”

Tickets to Sweet Auburn Barbecue’s McDonough BBQ & Bluegrass Fest are on sale now for $45 for adults and $25 for kids at sweetauburnbbq.com. Admission includes access to barbecue from all participating pitmasters. Adult and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase during the event. Sweet Auburn Barbecue is located at 1828 Jonesboro Road in McDonough. For updates, visit sweetauburnbbq.com and follow @sweetauburnbbq  and @sweetauburnbbq_mcd on Instagram.