Charlie Vergos

Charlie Vergos was born in Memphis on June 24, 1925 to Greek immigrant parents and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1948 — the same year Jim Quessenberry was born — he founded Charles Vergos' Rendezvous in a basement on Monroe Avenue in downtown Memphis.

The discovery of an old coal chute in the basement led Vergos to experiment with charcoal grilling in the mid-1950s. He developed Memphis-style 'dry' ribs using vinegar and a Greek-inspired spice rub based on his father's chili seasoning plus paprika — cooked hot at around 75 minutes rather than low-and-slow. This became the defining template for Memphis dry-rub ribs.

Vergos also helped revitalize Memphis' downtown core — he refused to relocate after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and instead invested further in the neighborhood. He died on March 27, 2010 and was posthumously inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2018. Jim Quessenberry cooked in the same tradition, and the spice-forward, vinegar-touched philosophy of Sauce Beautiful reflects that same regional DNA.