Whatever happened to Tom’s Ribs in San Antonio? That question has haunted hundreds, if not thousands, of former customers since the local chain disappeared nearly two decades ago. Tom’s Ribs is gone for good, but this city has not forgotten the restaurant or its over-the-top barbecue.
Tom Norris founded Tom’s Ribs in 1986, opening the first restaurant at 13323 Nacogdoches Road, a space now divided and occupied by USA Signs and a cash-for-gold business. Once the original restaurant found its footing, its sauced-up Chicago-style baby back ribs became a bestseller. Other menu highlights included barbecue chicken, sausage and a dish called Irish nachos.
San Antonio Express-News archives preserve a handful of images of the barbecue options at Tom’s Ribs, including huge platters of meats accompanied by an array of sides offered as the “Ultimate Family Feast.” Customers would suit up by tying Tom’s Ribs bibs around their necks before digging into the decadent display of smoked meats.
Tom’s Ribs may have served good old-fashioned barbecue, but the restaurant kept up with the times. Around 1997, the business set up a website that let customers email the restaurant to order “cyber-ribs” long before apps like DoorDash were a thing. The website also had a page for children with coloring images that could be printed at home.
When Readers’ Choice polls came around, San Antonio often voted Tom’s Ribs to the top of its eligible categories, and even celebrities, like the late Augie Meyers, would make a point to stop by one of the chain’s three locations to order some ribs, if not to indulge in a full spread of barbecue and hearty sides.
According to archival Express-News reports, Tom’s Ribs experienced a shakeup in 2002 when the business was acquired by Taco Cabana founder Felix Stehling and his investment group. The San Antonio mogul was a co-owner of Tom’s Ribs as early as 1996 and helped the chain grow with its Loop 410 and Stone Oak locations before becoming the full owner of all three restaurants.
Over the next decade, Tom’s Ribs seemingly dwindled in San Antonio until they were all gone. The Nacogdoches location shuttered in 2007 and was taken over by Bayseas Seafood shortly after. The Loop 410 location followed, and by 2009, all three Tom’s Ribs locations had vanished.
We were unable to find a news story in our archives that pinpointed the exact date Tom’s Ribs shuttered in Stone Oak, but it was mentioned in the Food Flashes section of an Express-News issue dated January 7, 2009. The blurb simply said that the location had closed and that it was the last one in San Antonio.