As their business outgrew their home, the Hurseys purchased a cafe on the corner of Piedmont St. in Gibsonville, NC. They had two large pits built on the backside to accommodate the growing demand for their barbecue. In 1949, the first license ever granted by the state of North Carolina to a barbecue wholesaler was framed and hung proudly on the walls of that little cafe.

Charles, the older of the two sons began "learning the business" by helping his parents during summers and after school. His first position was that of car-hop. In 1960, he joined his parents in their business full time - operating the retail cafe and managing the wholesale end at the same time. In mid 1966, Charles took over the Burlington location on Rauhut St., which his father had built and operated since 1957. Charles operates Hursey's Bar-B-Q wholesale located on Hwy 87 N. which is an up-to-date facility that is Federally inspected. In addition to running their own refrigerated trucks, he sells to several major meat distributors.

Charles loves to describe the process of the Hurseys Bar-B-Q business in simple terms. He remembers when his parents were cooking only one ow two hogs a week over hickory coals. The operation now involves smoking over 1200 shoulders per week (not counting hams!)