I DID THAT! Some of Texas's oldest barbecue joints close as meat prices skyrocket

[usonian]

WAPO, archived at https://archive.is/20260525212135/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/05/25/some-texass-oldest-barbecue-joints-close-meat-prices-skyrocket/
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
“This is as bad as it gets,” he said of escalating beef prices. “Everybody’s at risk these days: You’re one bad week from closing.”

HOUSTON — If the Texas barbecue industry had an alarm, it would be the spreadsheet that Russell Roegels uses to track the price of brisket. On a recent morning, sitting at a quiet table in his suburban restaurant, he pointed to the number at the top of the column: $5.56. That’s the price he pays for a pound of the most important item on any barbecue menu in Texas.

Over the past year, that number has risen 28 percent, a reflection of the spiking meat prices that have dented the pocketbooks of average grocery store customers nationwide. Inside the kitchens of Texas’s more than 3,000 barbecue purveyors, whose very existence depends on a plentiful and affordable supply of quality beef, the effect has been close to cataclysmal.

Roegels, 53, grew up working at a barbecue joint and has run his own since 2001, serving some of Houston’s elite and their friends, including former president George H.W. Bush, NFL veteran Gary Kubiak and former Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte. He used to be able to offset the high wholesale cost by selling other meats and side dishes. But this year he realized that wasn’t enough. So Roegels made the risky decision to raise the price he charges customers for brisket by $2, to $35 a pound — a 6 percent increase — and hoped his clientele wouldn’t defect.

snip

Roegels isn’t exaggerating. The culinary crisis driven by skyrocketing meat prices has contributed to the closures of some of Texas’s beloved barbecue joints: Brett’s BBQ Shop to the west of Houston, known for its barbacoa tacos; Kirby’s BBQ to the north with its signature increasingly expensive oak-smoked brisket; Sabar BBQ, with its Pakistani fusion sausage, in Fort Worth; Wright On Taco & BBQ in East Texas.

The article contains a cure for the situation, perhaps unintentional, if applied in the right diaper.

[EdmondDantes_]

1. I admit I know nothing about the restaurant business so maybe this was obvious to others

But I initially thought that if he's buying brisket at $5.56 a pound and selling it for $35 a pound that seemed like enough for a decent profit, but then I ran price of 4 McDonald's quarter pounders and that's 26.6 just for the just the burger and that's a cheaper meat. Plus the increased cooking time and a much smaller bulk buying power. No wonder I rarely eat out.

[usonian]

2. I roll my eyes at some price comparisons.

The classic was Beanie Babies. Someone added up the cost of the materials --- what? 39 cents? --- and left out all the manufacturing and distribution costs, and profit.

Smoking is time and labor consuming.

And these are experienced cooks. In my brief stint at McDonalds (guess when) I made it to fry cook, not the grill.



Then came high school. Kept me busy.

Restaurants are failure-prone. I wonder how many people know someone whose restaurant venture failed. Especially now.

[EdmondDantes_]

4. Like I said, I know absolutely nothing about the restaurant business

Definitely came as a surprise to me and I'm glad I ran the numbers and thought about it.

It's amazing how much things add up.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. At my store (NJ), BBQ brisket is $19.99/pound.

[usonian]

5. Ah New Jersey.

Last edited Wed May 27, 2026, 05:24 PM - Edit history (1)

I can't get "New Jersey" Jeff Goldblum out of my mind, from Buckaroo Banzai

New Jersey (Jeff Goldblum): A neurosurgeon and member of the Hong Kong Cavaliers who provides medical expertise and quirky insights.

Here, in his New Jersey, rock musician, neurosurgeon, cowboy garb.




Of course, nothing makes much connection with reality in the movie, but the cast is pretty interesting.

• Peter Weller, Buckaroo Banzai
• John Lithgow, Dr. Emilio Lizardo, who is possessed by an evil alien, Lord John Whorfin
• Ellen Barkin, Penny Priddy
• Christopher Lloyd a.k.a. John Bigboote

https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11379-the-adventures-of-buckaroo-banzai-across-the-8th-dimension

[Prairie Gates]

6. Do you buy 300 pounds a week?

[maxsolomon]

7. "Peanuts"!

Does he want to be blown up by an Iranian Nuke?

Wait, that's gasoline...

[usonian]

8. Did Jabba the Orange Hutt actually say "Peanuts"?

UN worthy of Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe's NUTS retort. Maybe "Peanuts" will be inscribed on his memorial.



Buried in his TAN SUIT.

[maxsolomon]

9. Yes, he said the increase in fuel costs were "Peanuts" compared to the risk of an Iranian Nuke.

Of course, the CHANCE of an Iranian Nuke is next to nil except in MFer's syphilitic brain.

Iranians understand MAD.

[usonian]

12. Maybe he meant something smaller than a peanut.

Sounds like it.

My mind is entering a zone where most of his "base" turns on him.

I had a friend long ago in aerospace, really conservative guy. Joined the marines and later went to work in one of those national labs in the desert. I helped him write his resume, being a computer nut with a daisy wheel printer and working computer before even the Radio Shack TRS-80 came out.

He called Nixon a failure, for all that he didn't do. And much as Jabba has delighted his ghoul army by "owning the libs", he has basically done squat NEGATIVE for the country internally, except for the money cornucopia for the wealthy "Epstein" class, and worldwide, a disgrace and disaster as in LOSER.

Soon (I hope) they will figure this out, and even if they don't switch, they will get totally disgusted with politics. And attend the week-long prayer meetings and demolition derbies that I have suggested for election week, and someone will pick up on them.

[efhmc]

10. Takes lots of time and when I get it in some other parts of Texas unless the meat and seasonings are not right, it just

not ok. I am sure people feel this way about some of the foods in their areas.

[kwolf68]

11. Are we great yet?

Asking for a friend.

[usonian]

13. I dunno how the price of vegetables compares with the increase in meat prices.

Are vegetarians equally harmed by this?

It could mysteriously boost vegetarianism, just like his frickin Iran oil disaster has led to the Chinese WINDFALL in solar panel sales around the world.