Heim BBQ, where the Fort Worth craze began, is leaving Near Southside
Heim Barbecue, the restaurant that launched Fort Worth’s craft barbecue fame, will leave its oldest location on West Magnolia Avenue in favor of newer west Fort Worth, Dallas and Weatherford restaurants, owner Will Churchill said.
The Heim at 1109 W. Magnolia Ave., which opened with much fanfare 10 years ago, will close Feb. 1, Churchill said.
Heim will also launch a new budget concept, Heim’s Pig Stand, Churchill said. The restaurant will start as a truck at 9904 Camp Bowie West Blvd., serving chopped barbecue or pulled pork sandwiches with sides, he said.
Heim’s Near Southside location needed updating and faces a “saturation” of competing craft barbecue restaurants, Churchill said.
Texas Monthly-ranked Hurtado Barbecue, 1116 Eighth Ave., is a half-mile away.
Michelin-rated Panther City Barbecue, 201 E. Hattie St. (also listed as East Pennsylvania Avenue) is about 1 mile. Smoke-A-Holics, 1417 Evans Ave., is less than 2 miles.
Two South Main Street barbecue restaurants, Brix Barbecue and Sabar BBQ, closed in 2025, although Sabar’s owner left because he bought a share of Goldee’s in Kennedale.
Heim Barbecue continues in Fort Worth at its River location, 5333 White Settlement Road, along with locations in Weatherford and near Dallas Love Field.
“We’ve done all this work at the River location, and we decided, ‘Why don’t we go back to one location for Fort Worth?’ ” Churchill said.
The rising price of barbecue is a factor, Churchill said, although Heim has kept prices lower than some competitors.
“Restaurants at this price level typically have one location in a market,” he said.
The Magnolia space is for rent, Churchill said.
The Churchill family opened the location when they partnered with founders Emma and Travis Heim in 2016.
The Heims had launched Austin-style small-batch craft barbecue in Fort Worth at their East Hattie Street food truck.
Brandon Hurtado of Hurtado BBQ said, “We wouldn’t have a Fort Worth location if it wasn’t for the precedent that Travis and Emma set in the craft barbecue scene years ago.”
The new Heim Weatherford location, 1910 S. Main St., is “exceeding all expectations,” Churchill said.
One surprise: Parker County customers eat 15 times more chicken than at other locations, he said.
The Churchills have high hopes for the Pig Stand concept, which will begin as a truck and expand to smaller take-out stands with sandwiches and basic side dishes.
The Kirby family’s original Pig Stand chain opened in Dallas in 1931 on what is now West Davis Street near Chalk Hill Road. It was America’s original drive-in chain and expanded to dozens of locations before dwindling in the late 20th century, according to a 2015 history in Texas Monthly magazine.
According to the magazine, the restaurants lost a 1920 court case to trademark the words “Pig Stand.” Many popular restaurants use a form of the name, including Van’s Pig Stand in Oklahoma and Neely’s Brown Pig in Marshall, informally known as the “Marshall pig stand.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2026 at 4:45 PM.
