"It’s real good," said Bob Jarrett, who was picking up a takeout order Monday afternoon at RO’s Barbecue at 1318 Gaston Ave. "I’ve been eating it for 50 years."

Jarrett is just one of the faithful who relishes a secret family recipe Pearl Black came up with in the 1940s. Her husband, Robert Ozy Black, put it on the menu when they opened RO’s in 1946.

"It’s good with barbecue or you can put it between two slices of plain bread and eat it," said Jarrett, who estimates he consumes a half-pint about every four to six weeks.

Other people use it on hamburgers. Some people just use it as a dip for potato chips.

Recently, the secret concoction labeled as "barbecue slaw and dip" has shown up in more than 50 area stores, the first step in a campaign by the Black family that could introduce all sorts of strangers to a unique local taste.

"It’s something we always wanted to do, we just never did do it," said Loyde Black, one of R.O. Black’s three children. At 78, he is the current patriarch of the business.

Both Harris Teeter supermarkets in Gastonia are carrying the product, which comes in various sizes. It also is being sold at Kingsway and Handy Pantry locations, as well as small markets in a 25-mile radius that includes Cleveland and Lincoln counties and Lake Wylie, S.C.

"Last weekend was our first, and sales have been very steady," said Frank Locicero, manager of the Harris Teeter at Gaston Mall off Cox Road. "We’ve had a lot of folks asking about it, so we know the word is getting out."

"My sister and I can make 400 to 500 gallons at a time," Hoffman said with a grin. "We’ll make it 24 hours a day if we have to. We’re streamlining it more and more. When we started about two-and-a-half weeks ago, a lot of locations ran out in a day or two. We were at Harris Teeter four times Saturday."

More merchants are calling daily, Hoffman said, but no one in the family is complaining.

"Our plan is just to go as far with this as we can," he said.