Located approximately 18 miles northwest of the city of Valdosta in the small Brooks County town of Morven, Miller’s Bar-B-Que just might be best described as the winningest barbecue restaurant in South Georgia. No other one can boast five first-place wins at the 100 Black Men of Valdosta Inc.’s annual Top BBQ Chefs Cook-Off, which was started in 1996 and has been going strong for 11 years.

Owned and operated by Willie Miller and his wife of nearly 30 years, Patsy, Miller’s Bar-B-Que offers dinner plates filled with a choice of pork, chicken, beef (when available) and/or ribs, each served with two side items, including everything from potato salad to baked beans to French fries to green beans to cole slaw to macaroni and cheese.

Miller’s Bar-B-Que also offers a selection of pork, chicken, rib and chicken strip sandwiches, as well as hotdogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, all served with chips. Homemade brunswick stew and fried okra are featured on the menu along with a few fun items like barbecued cheese fries and egg rolls. On Fridays and Saturdays, guests can enjoy mullet, catfish and shrimp dinners complete with grits, cole slaw and/or French fries. There’s sweet potato pie and banana pudding for those with a sweet tooth and barbecue by the pound for those with an army of hungry loved ones at home.

When not leading his hometown of Morven as a City Council representative or the mayor pro tem, Willie spends hours upon hours perfecting the fine art of barbecue cooking. Serving plates of mouth-watering chicken, pork, beef and ribs has been his mission since he and Patsy first married.

Willie has admitted on multiple occasions that he knew nothing about barbecue when he was merely a single man trying to find his place in the world. He often tells anyone and everyone who enters the doors of Miller’s Bar-B-Que that it was a few family gatherings and an uncle-in-law who thought he did not know his way around a grill that ultimately changed all that.

“I just knew I could do better,” he says.

After long days of farming or maintaining lawns or selling seeds or cutting hair or plumbing — he’s a self-proclaimed jack of all trades but a master of none — Willie could often be found at home inside the kitchen or outside over a hot grill, working to develop some enviable barbecue skills. Before very long, he realized he was on to something.

“I played around until I got what I thought was good,” he says.

Together, Willie and Patsy began selling barbecue from their home and the grounds of a local park, making a name for themselves with their fellow Morven residents. As demand for their dinners and sandwiches increased, they purchased a roadside stand and officially opened their first Miller’s Bar-B-Que restaurant. Six years ago, they constructed a full-service, dine-in establishment.

“Morven needed something here,” Patsy says.

“There’s no place like home,” Willie adds, “I love this place.”

Having worked in the restaurant business since she was 13 years old, Patsy does most of the cooking at Miller’s Bar-B-Que. The only exceptions are the meat and Willie’s mean banana pudding.

When asked how they feel about the popularity of Miller’s Bar-B-Que, Willie and Patsy look at each other, shrug their shoulders and almost refuse to answer ... not because they have anything to hide but because they don’t like to boast. They’re too truly small town southern, too down-to-earth to ever think about doing such a thing.

“We’re doing good this year,” he says. “As far as being popular ... that’s good. We don’t play.”

Willie and Patsy estimate that 95 percent of their clientele live outside the Morven city limits. It’s not unusual to see a Valdosta attorney or football coach or young family enjoying lunch or dinner at Miller’s Bar-B-Que. They and their staff make it a point to get to know their customers by name.

“We love what we do,” Willie says. “ I tell people that our barbecue may not be the best in the world, but it’s the best you ever had.”