Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que is a Texas barbecue chain based in Llano. It is famous for the "Big Chop," a two-inch-thick pork chop, and for being President George W. Bush's preferred barbecue spot. The restaurant is one of several started by the Cooper family since the 1950s. George T. Cooper opened Cooper's Pit Bar-B-Q in Mason in 1953.

His son, Tommy Cooper, opened his own place in Llano in 1962, calling it Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, which became the most well-known of the family's restaurants. Tommy Cooper died in 1979; after a few years under chef Kenneth Laird, the Llano restaurant was bought by Terry Wootan in 1992. In 2005, Tommy's son Barry returned to the business, and together with Wootan, they expanded to five more locations. Cooper's now operates in six Texas cities: Llano, New Braunfels, Fort Worth, Austin, College Station, and Katy.

The menu includes brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken, and cabrito, but the standout is the Big Chop. Meats are smoked in large rectangular pits using coals from pre-burned mesquite wood, giving a milder smoky flavor. The barbecue sauce, served on the side, is a pit-smoked mix of ketchup, vinegar, black pepper, Louisiana hot sauce, lard, and brisket drippings. A second location opened in New Braunfels in 2008.

In 2010, a 26,000-square-foot venue opened in the Fort Worth Stockyards next to Billy Bob's Texas. A downtown Austin location opened in January 2016, followed by College Station in October 2019 and Katy in November 2019. Cooper's has received positive reviews from The New York Times and The Washington Post. President George W. Bush named it his favorite barbecue restaurant in the early 2000s.

In 2011, it was one of five Central Texas restaurants in Patricia Schultz's 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die. The Daily Meal ranked it #10 for best barbecue ribs in the U.S. in 2015. In 2016, food critic Robb Walsh placed it #8 on his list of top Texas barbecue spots. In 2017, USA Today readers voted Cooper's winner for Best BBQ Brisket Sandwich in Texas.