Maxine Sykes

Maxine Deerman Sykes (born April 10, 1921; died January 17, 2015) was a co-founder, with her husband Bob, of Bob Sykes BBQ in Bessemer.

The Sykeses opened their first restaurant, The Ice Spot, in Central Park in 1957. They opened Bob's Hickory Bar-B-Q a few years later just down the street. In 1967 they relocated the business to Bessemer, and began franchising the name to more than a dozen operators in North Alabama and Tennessee.

After Bob Sykes suffered a stroke in 1970, Maxine took over the business, terminating the franchise agreements and moving the main store to its present location in 1977. She turned the business over to their son, Van not long afterward.

Sykes died in 2015 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

References

• "Maxine Sykes" obituary (January 19, 2015) The Birmingham News
• "Maxine Sykes, co-founder of Bob Sykes Bar-B-Q, dies." (January 19, 2015) Alabamas13.com