The White Swan story, told by the man who
has run the business for 35 years
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH
LINWOOD PARKER BY GARY RIDOUT
 Ninety-three years ago,
in 1930, Percy Flowers and his brother, Jimmy Flowers,
opened this restaurant pictured
here. The original restaurant had a second floor
that was removed in 1951.
The Flowers brothers were very smart
businessmen. They recognized that the travelers on the
cement highway that connected
New York to Florida in 1930 would  be a great source of revenue. That cement highway is Highway 301 and runs 1,099 miles through
the South Atlantic states.
In addition to the barbecue restaurant they also built ten cabins similar to the ones pictured here. Each cabin had two
rooms so twenty people could stay at one time.
Photos from Gary Ridout
Even though this was the beginning
of the Great Depression, they did very well. Jimmy
Flowers’s son who was also named Jimmy served on the
school board for many years. Before he passed away in
2022, he recalled the two years he lived in one of the
cabins so he could help his father and uncle run the
business. Each cabin was named after a hotel in
Florida which made it easier for tourists to call in
and reserve the cabin of their choice.
 Over the years, people
have told me two theories on why the restaurant is
called "White Swan." One is that at the turn of the
century in 1900 there were white swans that swam on
Holt Lake and the Neuse River. The other is that there
was a very popular cigar in the early part of the 20th
Century called the "White Swan" cigar.
This restaurant and motel were
owned and run by the Flowers brothers for eighteen
years (1930-1948). It was then sold to R. P. Holding
and Snooks Heavner in 1948. Holding and Heavner
brought in Red Shirley and his family who managed the
restaurant and motel for about three years and lived
on the second floor of the restaurant.
In 1951, Cleveland Holly
bought the restaurant and the cabins from Mr. Holding.
The Heavners kept the back property. Cleveland Holly
tore down the second floor of the restaurant and
expanded the restaurant part of the business. He then
tore down six of the twelve cabins and built the motel
section of the business.
I was born in 1948 and grew up
in Four Oaks. I had graduated with a degree in
accounting in 1969 and in 1970, Mr. Holly hired me to
be his tax accountant. Mr. Holly died in 1977. He was
not married so his three sisters operated the
restaurant and the motel part of the business.
One of the sisters was married to a man named William
Stanley. In 1979 Mr. Stanley added fried chicken to
the menu. In 1988 Mr. Stanley became ill and the
sisters decided to sell the business. I was put in
charge of selling it for them. Many people were
interested in buying the business but when they
considered that it was a 365-twenty-four-hours-a-day
job, they backed off.
J.D. Heath was a friend of mine. He owned J.D.’s
Music. I called him and said, "J.D., you need to
consider buying this business and the property." J.D.
replied, "I have always wanted to own it, but I don’t
know anything about running a restaurant and motel. If
you will go in with me, I would like to buy it." I
said to J.D., "To be honest with you, I haven’t got
the money to buy it." Said J.D.: "I have the money,
and you know the business, so let’s do it."
We took over the business in September 1988. He
continued to operate J.D.’s Music and I continued to
operate my accounting business. In 1994, J.D. passed
away so I ended up with the entire business.
In just a few years, we will
be celebrating the 100th anniversary of White Swan
Barbecue. I am starting a program now with my
daughters Elizabeth and Lisa. For the next seven
years, until 2030, we will be celebrating the stories
connected with White Swan Bar-B-Q and Fried Chicken.
We have three-to-four-thousand followers online who
share stories about their experiences and memories of
the restaurant.
My inspiration for this was born a few years back when
I was chopping a pig during a catering. A man stepped
over to me and said, "You know what I do every
morning?" I said, "No, I don’t." He replied, "I get up
every morning and get a cup of coffee, then I go to
the computer and log into your site. I love to hear
what people are saying about White Swan." My reaction
to that was that he must not have much to do if that
was his routine.
I thought about it later and realized that people
liked to hear about a restaurant where they love the
food. This man was from Minnesota.
Just then a lady from California came over and said,
"Linwood, you heard what he said. That’s what I do,
too. It makes my day to hear about what is going on
with White Swan Bar-B-Que and Fried Chicken."
We feel that this is an opportunity to build good will
and expand the business. In the next few months, we
are going to expand the story-telling by asking people
to share their stories so everyone can read and
participate.
White Swan Bar-B-Que and Fried Chicken uses the same
cookers that Cleveland Holly used in 1951. We also use
the same recipe for the barbecue. The only change we
have made is that we vacuum-seal our pork. This gives
us a better product for the customer. When the pork is
vacuum sealed, all the air is pulled out. There is no
oxidation. The pores of the barbecue are opened up so
that the sauce gets deep into the meat. That really
improves the taste and enables the customers to keep
the barbecue longer.
In the barbecue business there was always barbecue,
slaw, and hush puppies. As I said earlier, William
Stanley added fried chicken but no other foods. My
mother joined the business in 2001 and taught our
cooks how to season different dishes. With her
expertise, we were able to add boiled potatoes, green
beans, Brunswick stew, potato salad, macaroni and
cheese, and collards. All these were based on old
family recipes.
One secret to a successful business is having a
competent and loyal staff. Our operations manager,
Penny McArtan, has been with us since 1998. My
daughter, Lisa, has been with us since 1988. Everyone
in the restaurant has been there at least five years
and most have been with us ten to twenty years.
There have been several other barbecue establishments
in Johnston County over the years. Junius Moore
started Smithfield's Chicken and Barbecue on Third
Street in Bowntown Smithfield. Junius was Tom Moore’s
brother. There was Massengill’s Barbecue on Highway
301 closer to the intersection with Business Highway
70, and Holt Lake Barbecue was on Highway 301 near the
Holt Lake bridge before it closed about three years
ago.
There are many noteworthy facts about White Swan
Bar-B-Q and Fried Chicken. Outside of First Citizens
Bank, this is the oldest continuously operated
business in Johnston County. White Swan is one of the
oldest barbecue restaurants in eastern North Carolina
and is possibly the oldest one in the entire state of
North Carolina.
There are at least five generations and maybe six that
have dined at this restaurant. It is the focal point
of the county. We participate in peoples’ holidays by
providing turkeys and hams for their gatherings.
People come back home and they have to get themselves
some BBQ.
After World War II, people began to have money to
spend on eating out and traveling. This was around
1947. You will find that most of the barbecue
restaurants were started around this time. People had
cars and were traveling. Most barbecue restaurants
were built next to gas stations. People would stop,
fill up with gas, and get a barbecue sandwich.
The cabins associated with our motel are very
interesting. The Town of Smithfield has granted
permission for us to build ten more cabins. We will
have a motor court again like we did fifty years ago.
In the early 1990s, the North Carolina film commission
contacted us because the cabins are of early to
mid-century vintage. Part of a gangster movie was
filmed with the cabins as a backdrop. The commission
did not ask me to act in the movie. I think I would
have won an academy award if they had.
For ninety-three years, both the restaurant and the
motel have been in continuous operation. Counting the
Flowers, the Heavners, the Holdings, the Hollys, the
Heaths, and the Parkers, there have been six families
continually operating this business. For anyone
who was raised in Johnston County, they can point to
White Swan Bar-B-Q and Fried Chicken as the place that
has continued over the years.
Just recently a man was getting ready to celebrate his
88th birthday. He wanted the celebration to be at
White Swan. When I went in to greet the family, I
found out that the 88-year-old man knew many stories
about the restaurant and its history. That is the kind
of richness that the online experience will hopefully
bring.
Colorized
postcard c.1958 from Johnston County Heritage Center
collection.
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