About About us.

After moving to SLO in 2001 to attend Cal Poly, founder Matt Pearce fell in love with the traditional BBQ of the Central Coast. He graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and took up a job working at Diablo Canyon, where he would start competing in company-wide “cook-offs” for fun. It wasn’t long before Matt realized his real dream was to open up his own restaurant and take his barbecuing skills to the next level. In 2010, he decided to open a small catering business using authentic recipes that had been developed over several generations by friends and families born and raised in SLO.

As his food grew more and more popular, Matt, with the help of his wife Danae Pearce, grew their small business from a “hole-in-the-wall” take-out window to three successful, full-sized restaurants and a flourishing catering business…

You can now visit Old SLO BBQ at their flagship Downtown SLO location at 670 Higuera St, their easy to access Broad St. location in the Marigold Shopping Center (3870 Broad St.) and their newest addition featuring BBQ & Seafood options at Old SLO at The Cape in Shell Beach (1127 Shell Beach Rd).