Black's Barbecue

History

Black's Barbecue was founded in Lockhart, Texas, historically an important railhead on the Chisholm Trail where cowboys drove cattle up from southern Texas ranches on their way to markets. Cattle rancher Edgar Black established the business in 1932 as a meat market and grocery store. The store served barbecue smoked meats as a way to get rid of leftover meat that had not been sold, and barbecue was a popular way of using scrap meat during the Great Depression.

In the 1940s, his son Edgar Black Jr. took over with his wife Norma Jean and built the brick barbecue pit currently used by the restaurant. They eventually focused on selling smoked meat and ceased operating as a grocery store. Edgar Jr. and Norma Jean's sons Kent and Terry helped run the restaurant, although they later feuded. Kent had previously been a Texas state prosecutor.

In 2013, Terry, his daughter Christine, and his sons Mike and Mark Black made preparations to open a new Black's Barbecue in Austin. Kent sent them a cease and desist letter to prevent them from using the name, and fired Terry and his children from the original Black's Barbecue. Terry claimed to have received permission from his mother and brother to use the name, but Kent denied this. Kent purchased the restaurant from his parents in 2015.

Black's Barbecue has since opened locations in Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels. Terry and his sons renamed their Austin restaurant, which opened in 2014, Terry Black's Barbecue, and it has since become a successful chain.

Did You Know?

• Kent Black, who later bought the restaurant in 2015, had previously worked as a Texas state prosecutor.
• The feud between brothers Kent and Terry Black led to a cease and desist letter and Terry's firing from the original restaurant in 2013.