Barbecue king Ed Mitchell is once again a "pitmaster without a pit." Raleigh-based News & Observer reports Mitchell shuttered his Durham restaurant Que because of issues related to the small space in the American Tobacco Campus. The 150-seat establishment had the ability to smoke only one whole hog a day. Considering Mitchell is know for his pork, a single pig wasn't sufficient for demand. For reference, South Carolina pitmaster Rodney Scott can sell 15 to 20 hogs in a three day period.

Mitchell seems to have a pattern of losing restaurant spaces, but always finds a new home for his smoke meat mastery. In 2005, he closed his Wilson, NC barbecue joint Mitchell’s Ribs, Bar-B-Q & Chicken. Mitchell found partners in 2007 to open The Pit in Raleigh. He left that venture in 2011 and opened Que in May 2014. According to News & Observer, Mitchell states he is looking for a bigger space to accommodate a larger volume of whole hog production for the dining room and catering.

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