Meet PCG Member – Lewis Donald: From Country Clubs to BBQ Pits

But why BBQ?

“I was tired of being everything to everyone,” he said. “You don’t see a hamburger on our menu, you don’t see a club sandwich, you don’t see salads. It’s just not what we do or who we are.”

Donald also feels that BBQ embodies his own personal brand. He’s a t-shirt, flip flops, and shorts kind of guy and feels comfortable in that element.

“I wanted to focus in a direction not only for the rest of my career but for my brand. Who am I, what am I. I’m BBQ.”

Since opening Sweet Lew’s, Donald has continued to rely on PCG through partners like Freshlist.

“I use Freshlist quite a bit,” he said. “We do some special sides. During the summer, I was getting corn, squash, tons of tomatoes for tomato pies, sweet potatoes… I mainly use Freshlist and whatever they have.”

But truly, Donald isn’t just BBQ. In September 2019, he became one of the new owners of beloved Dish, a Southern comfort favorite in Plaza Midwood. The leap was made to preserve a piece of Charlotte’s history, and Donald and team have successfully done just that.

In the first few weeks of ownership, the restaurant received interior and exterior paint jobs, a new pastry case and milkshake machine, bathroom renovations, an updated bar top and bar windows, and a patio cover with TVs and music. While he kept the recipes and staff the same, Donald did hire additional team members and changed up the quality of ingredients used in Dish’s classic… well, dishes. Menu tweaks are in the works for this spring.

“If you want BBQ, you come to Sweet Lew’s. If you don’t want BBQ, go to Dish!”

“At Dish, we order from Freshlist every week,” he said, citing local nut butters, sausages, local sorghum, and vegetables as a handful of those orders. Many of the veggies, for example, are pickled and used in their signature Bloody Marys, while loads of peppers are used to craft homemade hot sauce.

PCG member Matt Martin of Freshlist speaks highly of Donald’s work at Sweet Lew’s BBQ and Dish.

“Lewis Donald is a silent hero who happens to have the gift of gab. He is a highly talented chef trying his best to help an under-privileged part of town. We at Freshlist help Lew source the majority of his cucumbers for his pickles when they are in season and, for a while, his sweet potatoes for his sides.”

When he’s not operating his two restaurants, Donald participates in culinary events around town and gives back to his community. He recently shared a tent with PCG member Chef Greg Collier and served wings at Yelp’s Wing Fling in November 2019 (which benefited the Steve Smith Family Foundation.) In January, he worked alongside many PCG members at Free Soup Day at Free Range Brewing.

Donald was also a participant at PCG’s 2018 and 2019 Farm to Fork In the Garden at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. In 2018, he partnered with J & J Family Farm of Tega Cay, South Carolina to create a smoked J & J Farms honey and Hickory Hills milk panna cotta with J & J Farms lemongrass jam and farm flowers. Last year, he worked with Hickory Nut Gap of Fairview, North Carolina to smoke various meats including juicy beef ribs.

Donald has discovered that networking is one of the biggest benefits of his PCG membership. Having direct line of communication to such a variety of likeminded individuals in a growing city has proved itself important. He uses the PCG Members Only Facebook Group to stay alert on what’s going on in the scene and is often called upon when others need assistance. He recently smoked pork and sausage for the PCG potluck and is happy lend access to his restaurant’s impressive BBQ equipment when others need a hand.

“Lewis is a very caring and genuine person who tries very hard to help a lot of people,” said Matt Martin. “During the PCG Holiday potluck, he dropped off a bunch of BBQ and sauces for everyone and then left before anyone even knew what happened. His good mood is infectious, and he’s a pleasure to work with and be around.”

Chef Chris Coleman of recently-opened The Goodyear House shares a similar sentiment.

“I love Lewis Donald,” said Coleman. “He’s a talented, humble dude, who completely embodies the ‘all ships rise’ mentality of PCG. We have collaborated on dinners at Reid’s and on beef rib research and development for Goodyear. I can’t wait to see what he does next.”

What will Donald do next? The city of Charlotte is anxiously waiting to find out.

Profile written by Allie Papajohn