Texas barbecue restaurants are shutting down as skyrocketing beef costs turn brisket from a working-class staple into an expensive luxury.
According to the New York Post, pitmasters across the state say rising wholesale meat prices, inflation, and slowing customer traffic are making it harder to survive.
“This is as bad as it gets,” Houston-area pitmaster Russell Roegels told the Washington Post.
“Everybody’s at risk these days: You’re one bad week from closing.”
Several well-known smokehouses have already closed, including Brett’s BBQ Shop in Katy and Kirby’s BBQ in New Caney.
Kirby’s owner, Shawn Jones, warned customers that barbecue meals had become too expensive for many families.
“When brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer, and then you got ribs and sausage and sides and desserts and all that … you can easily be spending $70 to $100 for barbecue,” Jones said in a YouTube video.
“That’s just not something that most of middle America can do as often as they would need to to support most barbecue joints.”
Restaurant owners say brisket prices have climbed so high that some shops would need to charge nearly $40 per pound just to maintain profits.
Justin Manning, co-owner of C&J Barbecue in Bryan, said the numbers no longer work for many small businesses.
“To have a margin, I would need to be selling beef for $40 a pound, which no one can do,” Manning told KBTX.
The crisis comes as the U.S. cattle herd has reportedly fallen to its lowest level in decades after years of drought and rising feed costs.
Owners also say everything from fuel to packaging supplies has become more expensive.
Burnt Bean Co., one of Texas’ top-ranked barbecue spots, has reportedly raised brisket prices to around $38 per pound while considering limiting brisket sales to certain days.
Owner Ernest Servantes said the industry has entered “survival mode.”
“There’s always been price increases, but there’s always been relief, and it’s gone down,” Servantes told the Washington Post.
“Now we don’t see any end in sight, and it’s going to get scary here.”
