Pat Neely

Patrick "Pat" Neely is an American restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is the co-owner of Neely's Bar-B-Que restaurant in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. He and former wife Gina hosted two Food Network television programs, Down Home with the Neelys and Road Tasted with the Neelys. The pair also co-wrote a cook book. Down Home became the highest rated debut for a Food Network show within the "In the Kitchen" series, which appear on weekend mornings.

Neely was born in Detroit, Michigan, according to the Neely's episode of Chefography. He and Gina (née Ervin) dated in high school in the 1980s, and after reuniting at their 10th reunion, married in 1994. They have two daughters: Spenser and Shelbi. Pat and Gina Neely each had been married once before.

In September 2014, Gina Neely filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

In 1988, Neely and three of his brothers (Gaelin, Tony, and Mark) opened a barbecue restaurant in downtown Memphis, aided by their uncle, Jim Neely, a well-known Memphis restaurateur and owner of Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que. Jim' Neely's sister, Beverly Neely, is owner of Jay-Bee's Bar-B-Que in Gardena, California, and her son, Curtis Williams, is the general manager. The brothers went on to establish their own reputations separate from their uncle's.

The enterprise grew to four Neely’s Bar-B-Que locations: two in Memphis and two in Nashville. On July 9, 2008, the location in Memphis' Mt. Moriah neighborhood caught fire.

Pat and Gina Neely, and partner Abraham Merchant, opened a New York City restaurant, initially called Neely’s Pig Parlor. The restaurant eventually opened in 2011 as Neely's Barbecue Parlor.

In August 2008 they acquired a 2,000-square-foot (190 m²) space in mid-town Memphis slated to be a corporate headquarters.

In 2008, their cousin (Jim Neely's son) opened Ken Neely's Hickory Bar-B-Que in Memphis.