In Fort Worth, dishing up BBQ & hope: ‘I’m grateful to be alive and serving others’
Of all the restaurants facing tough times, Jube’s Smokehouse might face the toughest.
Preacher-pitmaster Patrick Joubert opened two years ago in a tiny stand on a long-neglected residential street deep in the Stop Six neighborhood.
Times got hard. Then meat prices went sky-high.
But customers dearly love Jube’s. To Fort Worth’s craft barbecue community, Joubert is an elder statesman.
“I’m grateful to be alive and serving others,” he said as Jube’s prepared to celebrate its second anniversary.
“My heart aches, because I’ve lost several friends to COVID-19. As long as I’m able to, I’m going to smoke [meat] and smile.”
Joubert’s stand at 1900 S. Edgewood Terrace is in a 76-year-old hole-in-the-wall, a former corner convenience store.. In recent years, it’s mostly been remembered as Floyd’s BBQ, known for ribs.
Finding Jube’s is easier than it sounds. It’s at Edgewood Terrace and Avenue L, a half-mile south of East Rosedale Street or north of Ramey Avenue.
The takeout barbecue business held steady through the coronavirus recession. Joubert said regular customers were placing larger orders, so they could stay home two or three days at a time.
But then the prices of beef and pork climbed, with some brisket prices doubling and tripling.
“Meat prices are ridiculous, especially brisket,” Joubert said.
Some restaurants are promoting more chicken and turkey. (Until this week, bars weren’t open, so the only meat item in oversupply is chicken wings.)
It’s lucky that Jube’s is known for his smoked chicken stuffed with dirty rice. (Order a day ahead.)
“I’ve observed almost bare bins” in places that usually have a fully loaded cooler, he said.
“I’m fighting to not increase and to look for an alternative,” he said, “but I have to keep in mind that this IS Texas.”
It poured rain on his two-year party. But customers still came and went inside.
Afterward, he opened his phone to find a surprise.
“I received a text message from a customer who isn’t on Facebook,” Joubert said, “explaining how much of a blessing we’ve been to the people in the Stop Six community and also how it has changed his life.”
Joubert wiped away tears.
“I took it as a shot in the arm to forge forward,” he said.
Jube’s is open for lunch until sold out Tuesdays through Saturdays; 817-779-0235.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
