Editor's note: This story has been updated with news of BBQ on the Brazos' new opening date and location.
For five years, one of the Fort Worth area's most beloved hole-in-the-wall barbecue joints stood tucked inside a Texaco gas station. Despite doing a brisk business in brisket, BBQ on the Brazos closed on July 11.
The restaurant was twenty-five miles southwest of Fort Worth in a town with less than a thousand residents called Cresson, Texas. It was also recently named as one of Texas Monthly's Top 50 barbecue joints.
CultureMap Fort Worth first reported the closure, revealing that the gas station had come under new management and caused problems with the lease for owners and spouses, Kathryn Warren and John Sanford.
"We couldn’t agree on the terms with our landlord," Sanford told us. "He put some stipulations on there that we can’t accept."
The decision was finalized Monday night and the closure was announced on Wednesday, the last day of operation.
But hold on to hope, barbecue lovers. The joint plans to move on -- literally. The formerly brick-and-mortar store will be transferred into a roving trailer.
Meanwhile, Sanford says they're entertaining properties in Cresson and Granbury.
"We’re not closing the doors forever," he says. "We’re not retiring. We’re not quitting."
[Update on Aug. 17, 2018: The Star-Telegram reports that BBQ on the Brazos will begin operating a trailer in the same lot where it closed, 9005 U.S. 377 East, on Sept. 1. As Sanford tells it, they're "only moving a few yards."]
Story first published July 12, 2018 and updated on Aug. 17, 2018.
