Phil Diiorio

Drury Bailey, brother James, and cousins Michael and Webb Julian were Confederate veterans from Georgia. After the war, they returned to Georgia only to find the area they had called home demolished. They headed West to find a new home and their fortunes.

They settled in the valley where Bailey claimed 160 acres for himself. That became the town of Julian, named after his cousin, Michael Julian. Michael was chosen, it is said, because he was the best looking man in the camp.

The Bailey Barbecue is located 50 feet south of the site where founder Drury D. Bailey built his house. The house was founded in 1869 and finished in 1876. There, Bailey and his wife had 12 children.

The Bailey house still stands in the spot where it was built, and can be seen when walking up Main Street on the way to The Haven of Rest Cemetery.

The restaurant was opened by Scott Monroe in the late 1970′s after briefly being the Mountain Rose Soup Kitchen. Scott retired in 2011 and sold the restaurant to its current owners – Tom and Lindsey Nickel and Vince and Gina Marsaglia. Tom and Lindsey own O’Brien’s Pub in San Diego and brother and sister Vince and Gina own the Pizza Port chain.

The Bailey Barbecue now has a new menu and 16 draft beers in addition to a full bar. There is live music and dancing every Saturday night and some Friday nights. Tom and Vince are working on opening up Julian Brewing Company in the garage of the historic Bailey house with hopes to release the first beer brewed in Julian in over 100 years in February, 2012. Please join us at one of the best places to eat and have fun in the back country.