Terry Black’s BBQ joined the growing downtown Waco dining scene Friday, opening to a line at the rear entrance and Terry Black himself walking the grounds, posing for photos, greeting the masses, and admitting during an interview he already notices a parking problem he must solve.
The business spent about $10 million transforming the old Morrison Supply building at Eighth Street and Mary Avenue to the fourth member of the Terry Black’s chain, others operating in Dallas, Lockhart and Austin. Property acquisitions in Houston and San Antonio mean more expansion.
A short walk away, at 319 S. Fourth St., a self-described coastal-Caribbean restaurant called Red Herring anchors another reclamation project. San Diego-based Rad Lab partnered with Lucky Find Hospitality to craft the restaurant and its abode, Hotel Herringbone, from a collection of shipping containers. Already, Red Herring has become a conversation starter.
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Its menu is a mouthful, with highlights including calamari milanese with black garlic aioli, lamb shank with beet tabbouleh, porchetta with golden raisin pesto, and rock shrimp risotto with Calabrian butter. It boasts an open kitchen with an Argentinian-inspired open-flame grill, according to promotional material.
Terry Black’s BBQ and Red Herring are studies in contrast complementing existing restaurants nearby, and those to come, to broaden the downtown buffet.
Kyle Citrano, president of the Waco Restaurant Association, said he knew Terry Black’s BBQ was opening Friday, and he expected a big turnout.
“Waco historically has done a great job of supporting new restaurant openings as we are always excited to see a new restaurant come to town,” Citrano said by email. “Whether it be a well-known Texas BBQ hotspot, a Mediterranean chain born from another chain or a local chef opening a new concept inside an old stack of containers, people will be prepared to show up.
“I guess we will have to see what’s in store for Terry Black’s.”
Chef Corey McEntyre, who owns the Milo restaurant at 11th Street and Franklin Avenue, supervises operations at Red Herring, whose staffers include chef de cuisine Joel Garza, previously with Uchi, a non-traditional Japanese restaurant in Austin, and sous chef Katy Cotner.
Diners flocking to Terry Black’s on Friday seemed to enjoy the brisket, ribs, sausage, mac-and-cheese, potato salad and barbecue sauce as much or more than the operators envisioned. Throughout the lunch hour and well beyond, patrons followed the savory smell emanating from six smokers and piled onto the premises, passing feasting patio diners, some relaxing under yellow umbrellas sporting the Shiner Bock logo. Just inside the door, a line snaked past Terry Black’s-themed sauces, rubs, gift baskets and caps.
The venue seats 350 inside and outside, with booths and wooden tables seemingly occupying every corner and cranny. Neon flashes accent the hardwood decor, high ceilings and treated cement flooring. It created a vibe that some serious barbecue consumption was going on.
“The brisket is to die for, so tender. The sauce is good,” said Eddie Amos, who was dining on the patio with Ezzard Smith. They usually visit Tony DeMaria’s BBQ on Elm Avenue when pursuing good barbecue locally.
“We have left Tony’s,” Amos said, cracking a smile.
Wall-hanging photos showcase historic Waco locales, including the ALICO Building, McLane Stadium and the Hippodrome.
Terry Black hails from Lockhart, but Waco is familiar turf. A daughter graduated from Baylor University in 2008 with an accounting degree, and serves on the Baylor Bear Foundation board. His only brush with Waco barbecue occurred years ago, when he stopped at Jasper’s on Clifton Street.
“My daughter kept watching Waco, its revitalization,” Black said. “She would tell me it’s growing and growing, and that I should consider developing here. The mayor, city manager, the inspectors have all been nice, the nicest I’ve seen in all the places I’ve been except Lockhart, which is where I’m from.”
Black said he sold his accounting and investing firm, giving him more time for the barbecue business. He said he will visit Waco at least once a month.
Talking shop, Black said smokers at his barbecue restaurants in Dallas, Lockhart and Austin operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Smokers in Waco do not follow that timetable, but likely will when demand dictates. He said his staff and pitmaster will answer questions and give tours.
He welcomes competition, saying his location in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood boasts barbecue joints galore. He said proximity to the Dr Pepper Museum and Magnolia Market at the Silos should well serve his restaurant, and believes his enterprise will return the favor.
All side dishes are made using his wife’s recipes, the only exception being peach cobbler from a food-service provider, though he adds touches.
Brisket sells for $31.99 per pound at the restaurant. If anything, that price will rise due to Texas Panhandle fires that destroyed ranchland, Black said.
Brittani and Marcos Perez said they had visited the Terry Black’s location in Austin, so they knew what to expect from the Waco edition.
“My favorite kind of music was playing when we walked in, so I knew the atmosphere would be great,” Marcos Perez said.
Brittani Perez said the macaroni and cheese proved delicious, while Marcos Perez said the brisket “is the best brisket I’ve ever had.”
Wayne Webb, a lifelong Waco resident, said he consumed pork ribs, brisket and sausage during his noontime visit to Terry Black’s.
“It was all great,” Webb said. “The best in Waco? Yeah.”
“I’m afraid it will put some hurt on smaller places,” he added.
Black said the companion restaurant going in next door, Opal’s Oysters, will open in about 60 days. He said he now has only 59 parking spaces between the two restaurants, so his search has begun for downtown lots.
Terry Black’s should give the city even more drawing power with tourists and conventions, said Carla Pendergraft, assistant tourism director at the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“Terry Black’s Barbecue is well-known in Texas, and we are excited it will join our other great barbecue restaurants in Waco,” Pendergraft said. “This will give the visitor even more choice. … Some people love barbecue so much, they will go around to all of Waco’s barbecue restaurants to try them and compare,” she added.
Terry Black’s is related, through familial but not corporate ties, to the Black’s Barbecue launched in 1932 in Lockhart and in its fourth generation of founder Edgar Black’s family. Twins Michael and Mark Black, members of that fourth generation, split off with their own operation in Austin about a decade ago. After some legal wrangling, they landed on the name Terry Black’s, using their father’s name while their uncle continued at Black’s Barbecue. Both have won plaudits in Texas Monthly’s statewide rankings. The Terry Black’s location in Lockhart followed about two years ago.
Marissa Maguire, who manages the new AC Hotel about half-a-block from Terry Black’s, said its arrival in Waco is exciting.
“I think it’s a great option,” she said. “One of the main requests we’ve gotten from guests is that they want to go somewhere within walking distance. This improves the walkability of Mary Avenue, makes things more accessible, and we get to enjoy those wonderful barbecue smells.”
She said the AC Hotel also brings new dining options to downtown that people may want to explore.
“The AC Hotel brand originated in Spain, so you will see a lot of Spanish and European influence on our menu: Spanish wines, tapas, small-plate options, shrimp and chorizo dishes, items made to share,” Maguire said. “We have two different outlets, a breakfast concept featuring a spread of European items, and another for lunch, dinner and bar service.”