One of this year’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints will make its debut this week. Willow’s Smokehouse & Tavern will open this Thursday, August 13.
Located next to Eastwood Station at 4109 McKinney, Willow’s Smokehouse is the latest project from pitmaster Willow Villarreal and his partner Jasmine Barela. It’s the culmination of more than a decade in the barbecue business.
Villareall began his barbecue career with pop-ups at bars such as Grand Prize and Big Star Bar. He worked with Roegels BBQ owner Russell Roegals to operate the barbecue concession at the Typhoon Texas water park before launching a food truck that earned an enthusiastic three-star review from former Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook.
J-Bar-M Barbecue in EaDo recruited the couple to lead its opening team in November 2021 — earning a nomination in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards for Rising Star Chef of the Year and a glowing review from Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn — but the couple departed in April 2022 after conflict with the restaurant’s owner.
Since then, they’ve been working on opening their own restaurant. For the past couple of years, they’ve been transforming a 100-plus year old building into a neighborhood bar and restaurant that will serve Villarreal’s take on modern Central Texas-style barbecue alongside tavern fare such as burgers, smoked-and-fried chicken wings, a fried chicken sandwich, and smoked crab dip.
“We wanted a bar with really good food and some barbecue on the menu. It has a wood ceiling with that sense of cozyness and warmth,” Barela says about why the couple decided to include “tavern” in the restaurant’s name.
“We would like to be a place for the neighborhood,” Villarreal adds. “That’s why we have wings and burgers. Barbecue has gotten so expensive. You can get a drink and a bite to eat at an affordable price.”
Of course, Willow’s wouldn’t fulfill the requirements of being a “smokehouse” with Villarreal’s barbecue. Diners can expect brisket, pork ribs, two kinds of house made sausage, turkey, pulled pork, and smoked chicken. Once things are dialed in, plans call for adding additional sandwiches to the menu.
“It’s Central Texas barbecue. I don’t feel like I need to change anything,” Villarreal says about the menu. “It’s what we’ve been cooking. It’s what our fans know.”
Barela is bringing a range of sides, including her signature marinated tomatoes, as well as cole slaw, mac and cheese, cornbread, and potato salad — fear not, her popular cauliflower au gratin will be added in time. Desserts include banana pudding and pies made with an all-butter crust.
Bartender Zack Palmer (Bad News Bar) created the restaurant’s cocktail menu, including two frozens that are sure to be signatures — the Summer of George, a nod to Barela’s Seinfeld fandom that’s made with Big Red, and the Cabana Boy, an homage to Mountain Dew Baja Blast made with tequila, orange, passion fruit, and bergamot.
To preserve the building’s historic feel, the couple sourced most of its furniture second-hand. Barela says she found items on websites such as OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace, while others came from thrift stores, estate sales, and the Round Top Antiques Fair.
“I wanted to stay true to the character of the building. I didn’t want it to feel too polished,” she says.
Once seated, diners will find vintage signs on the walls, an Iron Maiden pinball machine for entertainment, and a jukebox that the couple stocked with a range of music, not just Villarreal's heavy metal favorites. While the building has a relatively small footprint, an upstairs dining room and a patio that’s shared with Eastwood Station provide plenty of seating.
“It feels really good,” Villarreal says about finally opening the restaurant. “It’s also scary. This has to be for the long haul. We really want to be a place for the neighborhood.”
