Austin Barbecue Joint Terry Black’s Has Set Its Sights on Houston

Terry Black’s, a Central Texas barbecue joint with a multi-generational smoked meat pedigree, has set its sights on Houston.

Permit applications filed with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts indicate that Terry Black’s has plans to open a Houston location at 1329 Shepherd Drive. When reached for comment on Wednesday by Eater, co-owner Mark Black said that the restaurant is indeed exploring property options in Houston, but no deal has been signed just yet. In addition to the Shepherd Drive location, Black says that his team has also looked at spaces in the Heights and EaDo.

For those among us who are not barbecue aficionados, Black’s is a legendary name in Texas barbecue, dating all the way back to 1932 when Black’s Barbecue first opened its doors in Lockhart. The restaurant takes its name from the father of its founders, brothers Michael Black and Mark Black. According to the duo, Terry Black passed down his “generations of barbecue knowledge learned from his experience in the Lockhart barbecue scene,” which inspired the Black brothers to open their first restaurant in Austin back in 2014. To be clear, Terry Black’s is not affiliated with Black’s BBQ in Lockhart — there’s a decades-long family beef here — but the lineage is definitely legitimate.

In the years following, it’s become a popular smoked meat destination in a city packed with solid barbecue options, even earning a visit from former First Lady Michelle Obama back in 2017, according to Eater Austin. In 2019, Terry Black’s opened its second restaurant after causing a minor controversy surrounding its space in Dallas’s Deep Ellum neighborhood.

No timeline has yet been announced for Terry Black’s expansion to Houston. Stay tuned for more details.

• Beloved Austin Barbecue Joint Terry Black’s Hits Deep Ellum Soon [EDFW]