| Pat Neely | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Patrick "Pat" Neely |
| Born: | July 20, 1964 |
| Occupation: | restauranteur, television personality, author |
| Known for: | his Culinary Career |
| Website/URL: | http://www.neelybbq.com/ |
Patrick "Pat" Neely (born July 20, 1964) is an American restauranteur, television personality and author. He is the co-owner of Neely's Bar-B-Que restaurant in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. He and former wife Gina hosted two Food Network television programs Down Home with the Neelys and Road Tasted with the Neelys. The pair also co-wrote a book. Down Home became the highest rated debut for a Food Network show within the "In the Kitchen" series, which appear on weekend morning.
Restaurant[]
In 1988, Neely and three of his brothers (Gaelin, Tony and Mark) opened a barbecue restaurant in downtown Memphis, aided by their uncle Jim Neely, a well-known Memphis restaurateur and owner of Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que. Jim Neely's sister Beverly Neely, is owner of Jay-Bee's Bar-B-Que in Gardena, California and her son Curtis Williams is the general manager. The brothers went on to established their own reputation separate from their uncle's.
The enterprise grew to four Neely's Bar-B-Que locations: two in Memphis and two in Nashville. On July 9, 2008, the location in Memphis' Mt. Moriah neighborhood caught fire.
Pat and Gina Neely, and partner Abraham Merchant, opened a New York City restaurant, initially called Neely's Pig Parlor. The restaurant eventually opened in 2011 as Neely's Barbecue Parlor.
In August 2008, they acquired a 2,000-square-foot (190 m) space in mid-town Memphis slated to be a corporate headquarters.
In 2008, their cousin (Jim Neely's son) opened Ken Neely's Hickory Bar-B-Que in Memphis.
Book[]
Neely and former wife Gina written their first cookbook Down Home with Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook it is also co-written by Paula Disbrowe with the foreword written by Paula Deen. It was released in May 2009 and published by Knopf.
Television Shows[]
Neely and former wife Gina hosted two shows on Food Network Down Home with the Neelys and Road Tasted with the Neelys. Down Home began airing in February 2008. Food Network personality Paula Deen helped the pair get their first show. During the summer of 2006 her sons, Bobby and Jamie Dean, featured the Neely's Bar-B-Que Nashville location on their show Road Tasted. In September 2006, Paula ate at the Neely's downtown Memphis and was impressed. In January 2007, the Neely's were invited to appear on Paula's Party.
The Neely's taped the sixth season of Down Home which aired seen days a week on the Food Network on the Food Network. Following the success of Down Home, the Neelys took over the Road Tasted show from the Deen brothers in July 2008, which was then changed to Road Tasted with the Neelys. Neely hosted the game show Save to Win on Saturdays on The CW's One Magnificent Morning block from November 5, 2016 to May 20, 2017.
Personal Life[]
Neely was born in Detroit, Michigan, according to the Neely's episode of Chefography. He and Gina (nee Ervin) dated in the High School in the 1980s and after returning at their 10th reunion married in 1994. They have two daughters: Spenser and Shebi. Pat and Gina Neely each had been married once before.
In September 2014, Gina Neely filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences".