Best barbecue restaurant in Fort Worth area shutters location, going mobile for now after lease dispute

Top-ranked BBQ on the Brazos has closed its original gas-station location and will operate from a trailer until a new location is found, owner John Sanford said Thursday.

Packing and moving his equipment out of his five-year home in the Texaco Plaza, Sanford said he and partner Kathryn Warren couldn’t come to a new lease agreement and “it was time to move on.”

“Sorry to spring it on everybody,” he said: “There was a lot of conflict about what to do, but we’ll be back up somewhere soon.”

The restaurant, ranked one of Texas Monthly magazine’s Top 50 in Texas and the highest-rated for barbecue in the Fort Worth area, closed abruptly Wednesday with a short Facebook post and Sanford’s oblique Twitter comment: “taking a short break then coming back blowing smoke eat more Q.”

BBQ on the Brazos will operate as a trailer somewhere in Cresson and at other special events in July and August, Sanford said.

“I may just roam around for a little while,” he said.

He’s talked for years off-and-on about looking for a Fort Worth restaurant, but has never found one to his liking.

The Cresson location was on a month-to-month lease, and Sanford and the Dallas owner could not agree on future terms, he said.

The owner wanted a seven-day-a-week restaurant with regular hours, Sanford said. BBQ on the Brazos operates five days a week and closes when sold out.

BBQ on the Brazos opened in 2013 after Sanford had cooked as a barbecue caterer and at a bistro on the Granbury square. He had previously owned a barbecue restaurant and cafe in Saginaw.

Texas Monthly first listed it in the “Top 25 New & Improved” barbecue stands, along with Billy’s Oak Acres BBQ and Heim Barbecue in Fort Worth and Meat U Anywhere BBQ in Grapevine and Trophy Club.

In the latest Top 50 ranking, BBQ on the Brazos tied for third overall in Dallas-Fort Worth, behind state-ranked Cattleack BBQ in Farmers Branch and Hutchins BBQ in McKinney.

ESPN’s Todd Blackledge boosted BBQ on the Brazos in a “Taste of the Town” segment, and Brent Musburger praised it during a Texas-OU football game.

BBQ on the Brazos is also known for original sides: cornbread salad, cilantro slaw, chile-powder beans and banana pudding.

This story was originally published July 12, 2018 at 8:42 AM.