Prominent High Point businessman Doug Witcher has purchased the Kepley’s barbecue restaurant site in High Point, a move that reflects the second attempt to resurrect the iconic brand on Main Street that closed in January 2025.
Witcher obtained permission to maintain the Kepley name, a legendary brand in a region with no shortage of famed barbecue haunts.
Witcher’s track record signals that he has the business savvy and capital to revive the Kepley brand. Witcher is one of High Point’s most successful business leaders and philanthropists, having built Worldwide Insurance Network, which operates as Smart Choice, from the ground up after founding it in 1994. Witcher transitioned to chairman of the company in April 2025, as longtime president and past 40 Under 40 honoree Andrew Caldwellwas promoted to CEO. The company last September made its 10th consecutive appearance in Triad Business Journal’s Fast 50 ranking of the region’s fastest-growing private companies, coming in at No. 21. It has also been named to Inc. Magazine’s annual Inc. 5000 list for four consecutive years.
Read the full story on the Triad Business Journal’s website.…