A change in the Fort Worth BBQ lineup: Restaurant founders step aside after 10 years
Emma and Travis Heim, who started Heim Barbecue in a tiny food trailer in 2015 and launched Fort Worth to fame as the best barbecue city in Texas, have stepped aside as operators of their namesake restaurants, Travis Heim said Tuesday.
Business partner Will Churchill, a car dealer and pizzeria owner who brought Heim Barbecue to West Magnolia Avenue, now oversees the restaurants, Travis Heim said.
The Heims remain partners in the barbecue restaurants, but Travis Heim wrote in an email that running them night and day for 10 years has been “incredibly rewarding” but also “very taxing — mentally, physically and emotionally.”
Churchill, also owner of Fort Brewery Pizza, did not return a message left Wednesday at his car dealership.
The restaurants are open. They have added a new discounted midafternoon happy hour menu from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, featuring a $10 sampler plate with a taste of brisket, ribs and Heim’s fabled candied pork belly “bacon burnt ends.”
Heim Barbecue recently opened its fourth location, 139 W. Ellison St. in Burleson, joining locations in south and west Fort Worth and near Love Field in Dallas.
Heim has expanded its menu in recent years to include a wide selection of burgers, smoked chicken and house-made corny dogs, along with house-made sides and desserts.
“We’re excited about the prospects of not working 60+ hour weeks, spending more time with our young girls, and working on new projects that we didn’t have the time for previously,” Travis Heim wrote.
He is known for posting outspoken comments, support for TCU sports and barbecue updates for more than 21,000 followers on the restaurant’s X.com account. But he has not posted since Feb. 9.
Heim made the honorable mention list in 2021 when Texas Monthly named the state’s Top 50 barbecue restaurants. But it was one of the best restaurants serving all day, seven days a week.
The original food truck opened Feb. 21, 2015, in the East Hattie Street/East Pennsylvania Avenue location that is now home to Panther City.
Heim brought Fort Worth craft barbecue, originally made by Austin pitmasters smoking small batches of prime meats and serving them with ramped-up side dishes and desserts.
The flagship Heim opened to long lines in 2017 as a full-scale restaurant and bar at 1109 W. Magnolia Ave.
It was followed by a barbecue boom of restaurants that put Fort Worth on the meat-eaters’ map, including No. 1-ranked Goldee’s and new spinoff Ribbee’s; No. 10-ranked Panther City BBQ in the old Heim spot; Dayne’s in Aledo; Hurtado in Fort Worth, Arlington and Mansfield; Smoke-A-Holics in Fort Worth; Smoke’n Ash, serving Ethiopian-style barbecue in Arlington; Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q in Grapevine; and Zavala’s in Grand Prairie.
Heim went on to open a River District location at 5333 White Settlement Road, a Dallas Heim at 3130 W. Mockingbird Lane, and the Burleson location.
This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
