Pearland residents will be able to celebrate Independence Day with barbecue from one of the city's foremost smoked meat purveyors. A new bistro location of Burns Original BBQ celebrates its grand opening this Saturday, July 2 at the Shadow Creek Kroger (11003 Shadow Creek Pkwy., Pearland).

Festivities run from 12-7 pm. Attendees can expect live music and free hot dogs for kids.

The new bistro location is the second Kroger outpost for Burns Original. The Acres Home favorite opened a similar concept in Humble's Summerwood neighborhood last year.

As its name implies, the grocery store location serves a more limited menu than the restaurant, but it includes customer favorites such as brisket, sausage links, turkey, ribs, chicken boudin, the restaurant's signature monster potatoes, along with sides such as mac n cheese and baked beans. Diners have the option of ordering sandwiches, barbecue plates, or family packs that are designed to feed a crowd. While most people will probably take their meals to go, the store does offer a limited amount of dine-in seating.

"We have received so much love and support from the first Bistro in Kroger and it has encouraged many to come check out the original location," Burns CEO Cory Crawford said. "We hear customers daily tell us that they shop at the Summerwood location, but they wanted to try the original location as well."

The original location has earned considerable acclaim. Author and TV personality featured it on a 2016 episode of his CNN series Parts Unknown.

"Burns is family owned and family operated," Crawford said. "Our food is made with love, family recipes, and true down south cooking."

Opening the new Bistro location deepens Burns' ties to Kroger. Two years ago, the grocery store provided the restaurant with an outlet to sell its dishes when restaurants were closed for dine-in due to the pandemic. Subsequently, the store started carrying the restaurant's barbecue sauce, which is now available in more than 20 stores. The partnership could produce even more in-store restaurants.

"[Kroger has] been supportive of us and our goals to expand," Crawford said. "We foresee more locations in the near future."