THE ICONIC PIG EAR SANDWICH

 THE ICONIC PIG EAR SANDWICH

Geno Lee is the current owner of the BIG APPLE INN restaurant. He is the great grandson of Juan “Big John” Mora who came from Mexico to Mississippi in the United States in the early 1930s.  “Big John” started the restaurant.

The most famous dish at the restaurant was their Pig Ear Sandwich.


Over time the BIG APPLE INN on Farish Street became an extremely popular place. It was packed day and night with partygoers and with activists of the civil rights movement.  Medgar Evers, the field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had an office nearby.

The story “Pig Ear Sandwich: An Iconic Dish” written by Simon Urwin on BBC Travel is fascinating and inspiring.

The NAACP members would often meet in the Inn and Lee’s grandfather, “a black Latino” supported the movement.  But in the late 1960s and early 1970s “businesses slowly began moving out.”

So why did Geno decide to stay in a place that was falling apart and crumbling? His response was amazing.

“I originally studied for the priesthood then changed my mind,” he told Urwin. But the idea of ministry still appealed to him.

“I decided to become dedicated to the people of Farish Street,” he added. “Pigs ears are an important part of African American cuisine. They’re what we call peasant food.”



Geno has kept an important tradition alive and “made sure no one goes home hungry.” Throughout the pandemic, for example, they remained open for takeout.

But there is more! “There are copycat restaurants in Memphis, Mississippi, and Tennessee, offering pig ear sandwich – just like you find on Farish Street,” he said. 

Thus, “Big John’s legacy lives on. That gives me the greatest satisfaction you could possibly imagine!” Geno said.

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