Aunt Bea's Barbecue has been in business since 1984. Fred Jones and Teddy Beaver joined together to buy 3 locations from Ray's Restaurants, which was also headquarted in Mount Airy, NC. The first 3 Aunt Bea's stores were orginally Sweet Sue's in Mount Airy and Galax, VA, as well as a Ray's Kingburger in Hillsville, VA. The Pilot Mountain, NC store was opened in 1989 and Independence, VA location opened in 2001

Fred and Ted brought many years of restaurant experience to this new company. Fred opened the C.F. Jones Ole Tyme Ice Cream Parlor as well as started C.F. Jones Ole Tyme Ice Cream Company. The ice cream parlor specialized in many flavors of hard-dipped ice cream but also offered a wide variety of sandwiches. Ted worked his way through the ranks of the Hardees fast-food chain, leaving the company as a district manager.