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About Us

In 1996, Stacy Underwood made the decision to open Uncle Shug’s Chicken Barn in Statesboro, GA.  A few years earlier his father, Harold Underwood, had closed the original Uncle Shug’s in Portal, GA.  The deliciousness of the “good as grandma’s” fried chicken and made-from-scratch sides quickly caught on and continues to be a Statesboro Tradition.   The first Uncle Shug’s Chicken Barn in Statesboro was located on West Main Street and was only a “walk up/take out” restaurant.  At this location, with the help of his father-in-law, Bunny Deal, Stacy was able to perfect his recipes for fried chicken, fried chicken fingers, and sides. As the popularity of the restaurant grew, Stacy decided to open a location with a sit down area and a drive-thru.  In  2006, this dream was realized with the opening of Uncle Shug’s Chicken Barn at the intersection of Hwy 301 South and the Statesboro By-Pass, which is where it is still located.  Here, customers can enjoy fried chicken, fried & grilled chicken fingers, all-beef hamburgers, salads,  and  made-from-scratch sides. Uncle Shug’s Chicken Barn also serves breakfast – from Breakfast Cups to Biscuits to Traditional Breakfasts of grits, eggs, and meat.

In 2016, Stacy was presented with the opportunity to open Uncle Shug’s BBQ Place in Brooklet, GA.  Stacy saw this as a great opportunity to share his love of barbecue with Bulloch County and surrounding areas.   The idea with Uncle Shug’s BBQ Place was to combine favorite Chicken Barn food items with old fashioned barbecue food items and create a restaurant that provided customers with delicious BBQ chopped pork, BBQ chicken, BBQ ribs, Smoked wings, fried & grilled chicken fingers, all-beef hamburgers, and made-from-scratch sides.  

In July 2021, Stacy opened a new restaurant in Statesboro, GA on South Main Street. The front half of this location is a new Uncle Shug's BBQ Place, which serves up all the favorite menu items from the Brooklet location. The back half of the restaurant is used for hosting Banquet Events. The menu for these events are served buffet style, and menu items include Grilled Pork Chops, Roast Beef and Ribeye Steaks!

All of the Uncle Shug’s locations offer catering in Statesboro and surrounding locations. You can choose to pick up or have the Uncle Shug’s crew set up and serve.  

Stacy Underwood’s dream of re-opening his father’s restaurant, Uncle Shug’s, has grown into an Uncle Shug’s family, striving to serve the people of Bulloch County and surrounding areas with good food, reasonable pricing, and friendly service.  Stacy tries to stay attuned to the needs and desires of his customers and provide for them – that is how the Uncle Shug’s family has grown from 1 restaurant to 3 distinct restaurants.  The support of Statesboro and surrounding counties is truly appreciated as the Uncle Shug’s family continues to grow.  So, if you are in the Statesboro area, please join us at one of our locations for good food, good service, and  good times!