Ryan, right, and Richard Carey, two brothers who have developed a passion for smoked meats. Ryan owns Noble Neighborhood Pizzeria & Barbecue, and Richard is the general manager at Wilson County BBQ. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer If you learned that the owner of one of Portland’s most acclaimed barbecue joints has a fraternal twin brother who is the general manager at another highly respected barbecue restaurant in the city, you might assume their relationship would be a little fraught with competitive tension.
Noble Barbecue owner Ryan Carey hears it all the time. “When I tell someone that my twin brother Richard is the general manager of Wilson County Barbecue, I always get the same reactions: ‘Oh, that’s weird,’ or ‘That’s competitive,’ ” Carey said. “But when you break it down and look at it, it’s not as competitive as you think.
It’s really more of a coincidence than a competition.” “I don’t see any competition with it at all,” said Richard, known to his friends as Dickie. The 40-year-old Carey brothers are quick to point out that while they both work under the broad umbrella of barbecue, there’s little overlap in the finer details.
“They do Carolina barbecue, and we do Texas brisket and barbecue sandwiches,” Ryan said. “Their atmosphere and style couldn’t be more different, in my opinion. They have 100 seats while we have 12.
Their menu has much more depth than Noble’s, and I think they have the top salad in the city.” Campa.