Research Triangle Park, N.C., [November 18, 2024] – This week, Christopher Prieto – whose Prime Barbecue was just named #2 in America by Texas Monthly for “Top Texas-Style BBQ Joints Outside the Lone Star State” and #1 by the News & Observer – unveils Prime STQ, his second restaurant concept, opening in Spring 2025 in the Horseshoe at Hub RTP development, Research Triangle Park (RTP) ‘s new vibrant downtown district (1151 Hitchings Way, Durham). The 8,000-square-foot restaurant will marry Prieto’s award-winning barbecue with a classic steakhouse experience in a very personal way, reflecting his Texas roots, North Carolina home and Puerto Rican heritage. Prime STQ – the name referencing the hybrid steakhouse (ST) and barbecue (Q) experience — will be an anchor restaurant for Horseshoe, set in a stand-alone building with indoor and outdoor seating for 250 and a private dining room with exclusive views of the pit room.
“We’re excited to bring our passion for the craft of barbecue and live fire cooking to the epicenter of the Triangle’s business community,” explains Prieto, who honed his skills over two decades. Prieto has led a winning professional barbecue team at the Kansas City Barbecue Society competitions, staged alongside celebrated regional pitmasters, competed on national TV, opened and operated his award-winning Prime Barbecue since 2020 and Primo Latin Cuisine food truck since 2023 and is the expert and author of Southern Living’s “Ultimate Book of BBQ: The Complete Year-Round Guide to Grilling and Smoking.”
“We are thrilled to add Christopher Prieto and Prime STQ to the Horseshoe campus,” says Erik Johnson, co-founder of White Point, the developer of Horseshoe at Hub RTP. “This unique concept solidifies Horseshoe and all of RTP as a destination for not only forward-thinking companies but innovative cuisine as well.”
Thanks to a 9-year tenure at Quintiles (now IQVIA), Prieto has a fondness and familiarity with RTP. While working towards the opening of Prime Barbecue, CEOs and interns alike participated in his BBQ Club, and his BBQ blog was the second most popular in the company nationwide.
“RTP is such an incredible melting pot of cultures. Sitting around the table with professionals of all kinds reminded me of how barbecue brings people together. This is what we’re most excited about at Prime STQ, to serve guests who represent so many diverse cultures in our own authentic way and bring everyone together at the table,” said Prieto.
Prieto’s vision for Prime STQ is a natural extension of the Prime Barbecue and Barbecue Nerd brands. Prime STQ will once again be a barbecue destination, this time located in the largest research park in the country. Differentiating it from Prime Barbecue, Prime STQ’s unique dining experience will be geared toward business diners, offering both a lunch service and an elevated dinner service; a separate room will be dedicated to To-Go orders, providing ease and convenience to professionals taking barbecue home to their families, friends and co-workers.
During the day, guests will appreciate the efficient counter service of Prime Barbecue’s beloved chopped-to-order smoked meats and scratch sides, while the evening will feature a hybrid style of tableside service and an all-new elevated menu of chef-driven smoked and grilled meat-centric entrees alongside a beer, bourbon and wine list.
Families will discover a second Triangle location to indulge in Prieto’s wildly popular barbecue and similar family-friendly amenities as at Prime Barbecue, including ample outdoor seating – especially ideal for weekday lunch and Saturdays.
Central to the Prime STQ experience, Prieto tapped Creekstone Farms Beef for the signature steak and house-ground burger and J & R Manufacturing – based in Mesquite, Texas – for the custom wood-fired grill. “Creekstone Farms is among our most important partners at Prime Barbecue – essential to the high caliber brisket we’re known for. We’re excited to be developing a custom cut of beef with Creekstone Farms, which we’ll age in-house; it will be the sole focus of our steak program, and we’ll serve our steak with chimichurri – a nod to my Puerto Rican roots. We can’t wait to introduce it soon.” While Prieto smokes with oak and pecan at Prime Barbecue, his proprietary blend of oak, pecan and fast-burning mesquite will be his wood of choice for the steak and burger.
Just like at Prime Barbecue, America’s Veterans will have a special seat at the table in the new pit room. Prime STQ will also participate in the Wounded Warriors Project, honoring veterans, first responders and their families with a dedicated, civilian-sponsored table.
“Sharing our love for barbecue gives us a way to thank and honor veterans,” said Prieto.
Prime STQ expects to begin construction this year and open in 2025. For more information as construction progresses, follow @horseshoertp and @barbecue_nerd. Charlie Coyne (charlie.coyne@cbre.com) and Tiffany Barrier (tiffany.barrer@cbre.com) of CBRE represented Horseshoe, while Nick Wilson and Jeremy Deckelbaum of Elm Partners represented Prime. For office leasing, contact Hillman Duncan (hillman.duncan@jll.com) and Patti Autry (patti.autry@jll.com).
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About Christopher Prieto & Prime Barbecue: Known as the “Barbecue Nerd,” Prieto is a champion pitmaster, cookbook author, TV personality, BBQ evangelist, and lover of all things ‘cue. In early 2020, Prieto opened Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, North Carolina, and in 2023 expanded with Primo Latin Cuisine celebrating the fusion of his Puerto Rican heritage and barbecue expertise from a food truck located behind Prime. In the short time since Prime Barbecue’s fires have been burning, the restaurant has received Southern Living Magazine’s distinction as one of the “South’s Top 50 Barbecue Joints”, News & Observer’s “Best Barbecue Joint in the Triangle,” and Texas Monthly recognized it as number 2 among the “Top Texas-Style BBQ Joints Outside the Lone Star State.”
Prieto’s life in barbecue has taken him to the stages of Food Network’s “BBQ Pitmasters,” “BBQ Brawl” with Bobby Flay and Michael Symon and “Chopped,” as well as Cooking Channel’s “Man Fire Food.” He also lent his expertise as the author of Southern Living’s “Ultimate Book of BBQ: The Complete Year-Round Guide to Grilling and Smoking.”
Living by his simple mantra – “Stay humble and stay hungry” – Prieto explores all that barbecue means to him and shares his expertise regularly with sold out tickets to his “Ultimate School of BBQ Class” at Prime Barbecue. He also shares his passion for barbecue with America’s Veterans through on-going participation in the Wounded Warriors Project, and honors veterans, first responders and their families with a dedicated civilian sponsored table in the pit room.
About White Point: White Point is a real estate investment firm that specializes in the acquisition and development of mixed-use, office, retail, and multifamily properties across the Southeastern U.S. The Charlotte, NC-based firm utilizes local market knowledge, an extensive network and entrepreneurial approach to pinpoint unique investment opportunities and in-house expertise to execute across multiple asset classes. Since inception in 2014, White Point has invested in over $1.1 billion of real estate assets, receiving numerous design and historic preservation awards. For more information, visit whitepointpartners.com and follow @whitepointpartners on Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Horseshoe: Designed to meet the needs of a new generation of work and leisure, Horseshoe RTP is a mixed-use development at the epicenter of Hub RTP, Research Triangle Park (RTP) ‘s vibrant downtown destination. Horseshoe RTP features more than 35,000 square feet of innovative food, beverage and retail wrapped around a central outdoor courtyard and equipped with amenities like a rooftop terrace and a streamside boardwalk connecting 20 miles of trails. The unique development is designed to seamlessly blend work and play with the great outdoors. To learn more about Horseshoe RTP, visit https://hub.rtp.org/horseshoe.
About Hub RTP: Hub RTP, Research Triangle Park (RTP)’s new vibrant downtown, is a walkable urban district designed to bring people together to work, stay, shop, drink and dine in RTP for the first time in its history. At full build-out, Hub RTP will feature up to one million square feet of office and life sciences lab space, 50,000 square feet of experiential retail, 1,200 multifamily residential units, and 279 hotel rooms. An impressive 16 acres of parks and greenspace includes the award-winning and eco-friendly Burdens Creek, which connects more than 20 miles of trails in RTP. Centrally located in the heart of the Triangle region (comprised of Durham, Raleigh and Chapel Hill), the 100-acre district includes Frontier RTP, an innovative startup community, as well as Boxyard RTP, a unique food, retail and entertainment destination. To learn more about Hub RTP and current leasing opportunities, visit https://hub.rtp.org.
Images of Christopher Prieto, credit Prime Barbecue.
Visit Prime Barbecue at 403 Knightdale Station Run in Knightdale, NC. Explore the menu and follow @PrimeBBQ. Prime is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until Sold Out.
Visit Primo Latin Cuisine in the parking lot behind Prime Barbecue and follow @Primo_LatinCuisine. It serves Wednesday through Friday from 5 p.m. until Sold Out.
Follow Christopher Prieto @barbecue_nerd for more on the “Ultimate School of BBQ Class” at Prime Barbecue.
Media Inquiries for Prime, contact:
Jennifer Noble Kelly
Jennifer@JNKPublicRelations.com; 919-368-4987; @JNKPublicRelations
Media inquiries for Horseshoe at Hub RTP, contact:
Laura Graff
media@theplaidpenguin.com, 704-743-8613
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