An entire generation of Southsiders, both city and county, may have learned to eat barbecue at Phil’s Bar-B-Q. At the very least, it was their first exposure to chowing down on it in a restaurant instead of around Uncle Ralph’s backyard picnic table.

Now Phil’s is closing. It’s the end of an era for one of the first barbecue restaurants south of River des Peres – Dohack’s was serving it early on, so they preceded Phil’s place on Gravois, which opened in 1961. And that, says Phil’s website, wasn’t their first location. It began with a watermelon stand (which is a topic for another day).

In the classic ‘cue style, Phil’s looked unprepossessing, indeed downright humble. The interior and the exterior were minimalist. Tables and chairs were mismatched and the walls covered in memorabilia. At least in recent years, the water in the restroom was inevitably cold. But the people who loved it didn’t care. Generations returned when they were in town.

Even though the menu had broadened in recent years, it was a world of pork steaks kept warm in barbecue sauce, fried jack salmon and the traditional sides, potato salad, beans, slaw, and spaghetti,. The pork steaks were always tender from their time in the tomato-based sauce; it was a perpetual tossup as to which was more popular, ribs or those pork steaks, which were less messy to eat, a point some still find important, even in barbecue.

The owners are retiring, and were unavailable for comment. December 30 is the last day of service. One can’t help but wonder what will be served for their New Year’s festivities.