Karena Reynolds Staff Writer
From Austin to Dallas to Lockhart, Terry Black’s Barbecue has created the true definition of Texas BBQ and recently expanded to 228 S Eighth St in Waco.
Although this restaurant is known for its barbecue, it also serves buffet-style sides and desserts such as macaroni and cheese, green beans, peach cobbler, and mini pecan pies.
Christina Black is one of three co-owners, along with her two brothers, Mike and Mark. Christina graduated from Baylor University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting in Business Administration. She said she always wanted to open a store in Waco because she has deep roots in the city.
“I’ve been saying for years, ‘Let’s open in Waco,’ and my brothers were always looking for a bigger market,” Christina said. “But I think it was probably late 2021 that my brothers and I started to feel growth as we started traveling more and more back and forth to Dallas.”
In late 2021, the Black Brothers began searching for a location in collaboration with a real estate agent in Waco, and officially found the property in early 2022.
“It’s been almost two years since we acquired this property, and we’ve been working with the city on permitting and design to get us to where we are today,” Christina said.
The restaurant officially opened on April 19th, and with the help of general manager Mike Burns, the location was packed with customers.
“We were so excited to open in Waco,” Burns said. “It’s a pretty big restaurant. There aren’t many places to eat in Waco itself, let alone really good barbecue places.”
When Black Brothers hired Burns in early February, he was living in Florida and had been in the restaurant industry for more than 24 years, primarily in fine dining. Burns had been thinking of moving his family back to Texas, but when he found a job offer at Terry Black’s Barbecue, he said he felt it was the perfect time to do so. Told.
“When you’re looking for a job, a few opportunities come up, and one of them is in Texas, so you’re like, ‘Well, wait a minute,'” Burns said. “It was a barbecue place, so I thought they might have sent it by mistake.”
Immediately after receiving information about the position at Terry Black’s Barbecue, Barnes researched existing locations throughout Texas with the Black brothers. He said he immediately felt the family aspect of the business was exactly what he was looking for.
“This really felt like a functioning family business,” Burns said. “They seemed to do well by just sticking to their roots, and it was all about hospitality and product quality.”
Shortly after Burns officially joined the company, he began recruiting “pit masters” and “pit team members” to assist.
“Mostly compared [pitmaster] That’s not a line cook’s job, so we asked the chef to do it,” Burns said. “You can’t just punch in and punch out. Every brisket you put on your smoker literally has its own personality, because they come from animals and they’re all different sizes.”
Burns said the first step in preparing the meat is trimming it to achieve the right consistency. After that, seasonings are added and the meat is marinated. Following these stages, the pitmaster and pit team members work for a total of 12 hours to achieve the perfect fire temperature to cook the meat.
“The term ‘pitmaster’ is not a word we use lightly,” Burns said. “It refers to someone who is a master of his or her craft.”
Terry Black’s Barbecue specializes in its meat, but Burns said the restaurant has something for everyone.
“I think we have a wide enough menu that it’s not just barbecue, even though we can have really good barbecue,” Burns said. “but [it’s] Easy casual meal. I had macaroni and cheese and pinto beans, but also had coleslaw, potato salad, and banana pudding for dessert. …Kids enjoy it. Adults can also enjoy it. ”
