One of the best Fort Worth-area BBQ restaurants is opening its doors again
If you pass Goldee’s Barbecue and don’t see a line, better stop.
It won’t happen often, now that the rest of Texas is finding the way to a back road south of Kennedale.
A year after Goldee’s grand opening lasted all of four weeks before the pandemic hit, the barbecue restaurant founded by five Arlington friends is back running full blast at 4645 Dick Price Road in remote, rural south Tarrant County.
Next week, Goldee’s will reopen the dining room.
That’s after a year selling Austin-style craft brisket, ribs, turkey, sausage and sides from a makeshift parking-lot takeout counter.
“We started out so good that first month [in 2020] “ said Jonny White, a former cook at Austin’s legendary Franklin Barbecue.
“Now we’re thankful people stuck with us. We couldn’t have done it without our customers. We’ve had time to meet and talk to them.”
White partnered with friends from their days at Boles Junior High in Arlington, including Lane Milne, who worked at Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin; Dylan Taylor, who worked at La Barbecue in Austin; Jalen Heard from Freedmen’s in Austin; and Nupohn Inthanousay, who ran a Thai restaurant in Austin and makes the sides and homemade sandwich bread.
Goldee’s Barbecue is a long way from the barbecue of their childhood, when Milne used to visit the old Kenneth’s True Pit Barbecue in the same 1960s location. White was dining with his family at the southwest Arlington location of Dallas-based Dickey’s Barbecue Pit.
Then, they went to Austin.
“I tried some other stuff, and said, ‘Whoa, this is a lot better,’ “ White said.
White compares the silky-smooth brisket ($8 chopped sandwich, $24/pound sliced) to legendary Franklin’s.
One of Goldee’s top sellers is a pre-brined, peppered smoked turkey ($8 sandwich, $18/pound) that has its own cult following.
“It’s a mix of a lot of stuff we’ve learned,” White said.
Side dishes ($3.50) include collards and cheese grits along with the standard slaw, beans and potato salad. The homemade bread is $6/loaf.
The first day Goldee’s opened, the waiting line wrapped through the parking lot, possibly drawing the first traffic to Dick Price Road since the days of demolition derby at the old stock car speedway or drag strip.
Those crowds returned in February, when the pandemic eased and The Dallas Morning News named Goldee’s the region’s best new barbecue restaurant.
Since then, Goldee’s has smoked 10 extra briskets and 10 extra racks of ribs every day, and still often sells out. (It’s open only Fridays through Sundays.)
A chocolate sheath cake with candied pecans has joined banana pudding and bread pudding on the dessert menu.
When Goldee’s dining room reopens, it will keep fewer tables and more spacing, White said. The restaurant will return to traditional service at the counter inside.
Goldee’s opens for lunch and early dinner until 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, lunch Sunday; 817-480-4131, goldeesbbq.com.
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
