Pit crew

4 Houston-area spots heat up Texas Monthly's Best New Barbecue Joints list

Feges BBQ barbecue brisket and vegetable sides

Texas Monthly named Feges BBQ one of Texas' top new barbecue joints.

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

While Texas carnivores bide their time waiting for the next edition of Daniel Vaughn’s quadrennial Top 50 Barbecue Joints, which is due in 2021, Texas Monthly has delivered something new to chew on. On April 22, the barbecue editor fired up his midterm report on the state’s most promising newcomers.

The unranked list is the result of frequent trips to every corner of the state to taste dozens of spots, with every possible spelling iteration of the word "barbecue." Despite the title, the timeframe for openings is relative with one eatery: Charlie’s Bar-B-Que in Beaumont, which originally opened in 2012, but Vaughn explains he didn't discover until late 2017.

Otherwise Vaughn held fast to a set of rules, confining the list to only places with permanent addresses, food trucks included, and eliminating satellite locations like Truth Barbeque’s Houston location and Micklethwait Craft Meat’s new outpost in Smithville from consideration.

The Houston area racked up four nods, right after the Austin area, which earned six nods — more than a fifth of the entire list. Here, CultureMap Tastemaker Award-winning Blood Bros. BBQ leads the charge. As CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler notes, the Bellaire spot is beloved by Vaughn for its Central Texas-style classics mixed with Asian-inspired twists like a smoked turkey banh mi, Thai green curry boudin (one of several housemade sausages), and brisket fried rice. Folks west will love the nod to Harlem Road Texas BBQ, while Inner Loopers will regale in the selection of the Greenway Plaza joint Feges BBQ. And locals know that Revellie Barbecue Co. in Magnolia is Houston's new destination for good 'cue.

In Austin, Vaughn was especially taken by the innovators of the Capital City scene, shouting out LeRoy & Lewis Barbecue for being “ahead of the curve with barbecue trends,” Loro for being “unfamiliar and exhilarating,” and The Switch’s unique Cajun-Texan mix.

Vaughn found the Capital City suburbs just as promising. Pustka Family Barbeque in Hutto, Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville, and unsurprisingly John Mueller Black Box Barbecue in Georgetown.

More remarkable was the inclusion of two new restaurants nearby in Waco, once scoffed at for being just a highway pitstop between Austin and Dallas. Helberg Barbecue won high praise for its pastrami beef cheeks and Guess Family Barbecue for “the ideal version of Texas spareribs.”

Though Central Texas shined, Vaughn’s report proves that superlative barbecue is never hard to find in the Lone Star State. The selections traversed the entire map, from the Panhandle to the Gulf coast, as follows:

Blood Bros. BBQ, Bellaire
Harlem Road Texas BBQ, Richmond
Feges BBQ, Houston
Reveille Barbecue Co., Magnolia
LJ’s BBQ, Brenham
1775 Texas Pit BBQ, College Station
Panther City BBQ, Fort Worth
Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue, Marathon
Butter’s BBQ, Mathis
Rejino Narbeque, Olton
Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que, Rockdale
Black Board Bar-B-Q, Sisterdale
Smokin’ Moon BBQ & Beer Garden, Pharr
Smoke Sessions Barbecue, Royse City
Pitforks and Smotherings BBQ, Slaton
Convenience West, Marfa

Read the full list of Vaughn's pro tips at Texas Monthly, then hit the road for a meaty adventure.

barbecue lists

Pizza purchase

Private equity gobbles up Texas-based Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut is being sold.

Texas-based Pizza Hut, whose sales have floundered for several years, is set to be acquired by private equity firm LongRange Capital in a $2.7 billion deal.

LongRage said Tuesday, June 16 that it agreed to buy Pizza Hut’s global business, except for the chain’s operations in China, from restaurant conglomerate Yum Brands for about $1.5 billion. Restaurant group Yum China Holdings, which has a corporate office in Plano, is purchasing Pizza Hut’s Chinese business for about $1.2 billion.

The deals are expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

This will mark the first time since 1977 that Pizza Hut hasn’t been owned by either PepsiCo or Yum and its predecessor, Tricon Global Restaurants.

“Despite efforts to revitalize the brand and shut underperforming locations, it has become increasingly clear that pushing the [Pizza Hut] division back into growth will require a level of investment and patience that Yum is just not prepared to commit to,” Neal Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at data analytics and consulting company GlobalData, wrote.

The deals follow a sweeping review, launched in November, of the troubled Pizza Hut brand. Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas.

There are almost 20,000 Pizza Huts in more than 100 countries, including nearly 1,000 locations in Texas.

In February, Yum said it was shutting down an estimated 250 Pizza Hut restaurants as the chain continued to post weak sales and profit. In 2025, Pizza Hut generated global sales of $12.8 billion, including $5.6 billion in the U.S. That compares with $13.1 billion in global sales and $6 billion in U.S. sales the previous year.

“Under LongRange and Yum China, Pizza Hut will be well positioned for future growth with ownership that brings deep expertise in the restaurant industry,” Yum CEO Chris Turner says in a press release. “Pizza Hut is one of the most iconic restaurant brands in the world, and we are proud of the important role it has played in Yum’s history.”

Among the brands in LongRange’s portfolio are 24 Hour Fitness; casket manufacturer Batesville; and Greencore Group, which makes food items such as sandwiches, salads, prepared meals, desserts and pizzas.

Aside from Pizza Hut, brands under the Yum umbrella include KFC and Taco Bell. Yum and its franchisees operate more than 63,000 restaurants in 155 countries.

More pizza deals
Pizza Hut isn’t the only locally based pizza chain with new ownership. In January, OneRyan Global said it acquired a majority stake in Fort Worth-based Mr. Gatti’s Pizza for an undisclosed amount. OneRyan, which has been a Gatti’s franchisee, is the investment vehicle for Brint Ryan, chairman and CEO of the Plano-based Ryan tax consulting firm.

Gatti’s was founded in Stephenville in 1964 and relocated its headquarters to Austin in 1969. Today, the chain has more than 230 open or planned locations in Texas and the Southeast.

In February, Gatti’s said it was targeting the Houston area as part of the chain’s expansion plans. “Houston is a strategic market for sustainable growth and wide-open franchise opportunities,” said Scott McIntosh, vice president of franchise development at Gatti’s.

pizza hut yum brands plano pizza

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Pizza purchase

Private equity gobbles up Texas-based Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion