This hasn’t been a good month for barbecue joints. First, the O’boys franchise came to an end when the last remaining restaurant, a small one in Baldwin Park, closed its doors. Now, Blackwater Bar-b-q, which also had a good following for a number of years, but never expanded the way O’boys did, appears to have closed.

A flog reader reports that the Blackwater restaurant on Edgewater Drive in College Park has a sign indicating it is for sale or lease, and a handwritten note on the door offers apologies to customers for the closing.

Blackwater opened in 2003 in a storefront on South Orange Avenue, next door to Le Coq Au Vin (the space is the new home to Alfonso’s pizzeria). Its barbecue won accolades from customers and critics — I gave it a couple of annual awards for its tasty ribs.

The phone at the College Park eatery does not seem to be disconnected yet, but it rings without answer by human or machine. The website is still in operation. But it does appear that another once-good barbecuerie has smoked its last butt.{jcomments on}