A Top 50 East Texas barbecue stand opened near Fort Worth. Here’s what’s different
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- B4 Barbeque set up a new stand at 103 U.S. 287 in Rhome after five years in Mabank.
- B4’s menu features brisket, large ribs, turkey and a 6-meat sampler with a side for $35.
- B4 serves lunch Wednesdays through Saturdays and sells out most days.
One good barbecue stand deserves another.
Six weeks after one state-ranked Top 50 barbecue stand moved into a restaurant location on U.S. 287, another top-ranked stand from East Texas set up a new stand closer to the Tarrant County line.
B4 Barbeque is new in suburban Rhome after five years in Mabank, where Nolan Belcher honed his pitmaster work before he and his wife, Emily, moved back home near his native Watauga.
B4 is set up on a vacant lot at 103 U.S. 287 in Rhome, at the South Main Street.exit.
That’s about 15 miles south of North Texas Smoke in Decatur, which just moved to a restaurant location at 2555 U.S. 287 after five years in a nearby trailer.
Both Nolan Belcher and North Texas Smoke owner Derek Degenhardt are Army veterans who decided to try their hand at barbecue during the COVID pandemic.
Both studied up on the barbecue business before opening their own stands.
Until he opened the first B4, Nolan Belcher said, the only other craft barbecue restaurant he’d tried was Panther City BBQ.
“I’ve always been more of a Mexican food guy,” he said.
But the best business is barbecue.
“In the military, I got to travel the world, so we try to incorporate that,” he said.
The sauces and rubs are traditional but might also have a hint of curry or tandoori spice, he said. The exceptionally large and tender ribs are zested with slivers of lemon.
The wagyu brisket is also a superstar. B4’s turkey is also unusually well cared-for, with a smoky ring and a peppery bark like the brisket.
Nolan Belcher tossed off the idea of any sort of Wise County rivalry with North Texas Smoke.
“This area is growing enough [for both],” Belcher said.
U.S. 287 is the primary highway between Houston and Colorado. The neighborhoods along U.S. 287 are the fastest-growing in northwest Fort Worth, and B4 Barbeque is about 7 miles outside town.
B4 is known in Mabank for platters. Insted of charging by the ounce like many top-ranked barbecue restaurants, B4 offers a regular barbecue plate with two sides for $25, added meats for $28 or $33 or a 6-meat sampler with a side for $35.
The menu is familiar: brisket, pork ribs, housemade sausage, pork belly “burnt ends,” turkey, chicken and brisket-stuffed jalapeno “Texas Twinkies.”
Sides, all inventive, include elote or cilantro rice along with the typical coleslaw, potato salad and beans.
B4 Barbeque is open for lunch Wednesdays through Saturdays.
It sells out most days; 903-910-5272, b4bbqb.com (not yet updated).
This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 4:33 AM.
