Charlie’s BBQ & Bakery on East Main Street has new owners and a new name.
The restaurant is now called Barque (pronounced like tree bark), as in the smoked outside layer on a brisket, and is also a play on “barbecue.”
Formerly owned and operated by Wes Agee and Elizabeth St. Claire, Charlie’s opened in 2018 and became a neighborhood favorite, as people enjoyed the food and were charmed by Agee’s outgoing personality. Agee died in April, and St. Claire has moved to Nashville and is now the manager at Peg Leg Porter in West Nashville.
She said that running the restaurant without Agee was difficult.
“We love Chattanooga and the people we met there,” St. Claire said.