Jonny Butch (left) and Joseph Bastian slice barbecue at Goldee’s BBQ on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. The restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, the first for a Fort Worth restaurant.
Imelda García/Staff writer
At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, Joel Vienneau and Martin Hamel were already waiting by the door of Goldee’s BBQ in Fort Worth. They had traveled from Quebec, Canada, as part of a tour of Louisiana and Texas to try some of the best barbecue spots.
They didn’t know they were about to witness a historic moment for the city.
“I will be able to say that I was here the day this happened,” Vienneau said. “I’m happy for them.”
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Martin Hamel (left) and Joel Vienneau, from Quebec, Canada, were the first customers at Goldee’s BBQ on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. They were on a BBQ road trip through Louisiana and Texas, celebrating their 50th birthdays.
Imelda Garcia/Staff writer
Goldee’s BBQ received a Michelin star Thursday, becoming the first restaurant in Fort Worth to earn the distinction.
For its four owners, Nupohn Inthanousay, Lane Milne, Jalen Heard and Zain Shafi, the recognition came after years of cooking together.
“I feel pretty good. I actually do feel very proud of all the work that we’ve done, especially the staff, for sure,” Inthanousay said. “Today’s accolade is a reflection of them.”
The four owners of Goldee’s BBQ, in Fort Worth (left to right): Jalen Heard, Nupohn Inthanousay, Zain Shafi and Lane Milne, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Goldee’s is the first Fort Worth restaurant to earn a Michelin star.
Imelda Garcia/Staff writer
The restaurant’s story began years before it opened in February 2020. Its founders, Inthanousay, Milne, Heard, Dylan Taylor and Jonny White, met while growing up in Arlington. Some had been friends since elementary school, but they all became close while attending Martin High School.
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After graduating, they moved to Austin for college. Between 2013 and 2014, they discovered their love for Texas craft barbecue when they all began working at different restaurants around the city.
“We would come together on our days off and show each other what we have learned and try new things,” Inthanousay recalled.
They spent several years learning the ins and outs of barbecue.
A $194 tray of BBQ sits on one of the inside tables at Goldee’s BBQ, Thursday Oct. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth. The restaurant seats 48 inside and 24 outside. The tray contains almost every meat offering from the restaurant.
Bob Booth/The Dallas Morning News
During that time, they saved money by teaching barbecue classes and doing catering. In 2019, they returned to Arlington and found the small building where they would eventually open Goldee’s BBQ in early 2020. The restaurant is at 4645 Dick Price Road in Fort Worth, where a large, weathered sign on the road greets diners.
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The location mattered to them because they wanted a place with character.
“We found a place that kind of had the vibe that we wanted, so we could start up with a low cost, and then just kind of gradually build and see how it went from there,” Milne said.
But soon afterward, the pandemic forced the restaurant to close in March 2020.
People lined up outside Goldee’s BBQ, Thursday Oct. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth. The restaurant just won a Michelin star.
Bob Booth/The Dallas Morning News
Goldee’s stayed closed for about a month, then began offering curbside service for a year and a half.
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Recognition came with a February 2021 article in The Dallas Morning News that helped put them on the map. In October 2021, Texas Monthly ranked it No. 1 on its list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints.
Dylan Taylor and Jonny White left the project to pursue other business ventures, and Zain Shafi joined the group.
Along with its barbecue, one of the restaurant’s defining features is that the team makes its own bread, pickles, potato salad, mayonnaise, beans, sauces and almost all the sausages it sells. The team also experiments with different barbecue preparations.
One of the owners, Jalen Heard, shows off some of the smoked briskets at Goldee’s BBQ, Thursday Oct. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth. Heard said they go through around a ton of meat each week.
Bob Booth/The Dallas Morning News
And the menu continues to evolve. Inthanousay said the current recipes are not necessarily the same ones they served a year ago, or even a few months ago.
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“Our menu is a living thing,” Inthanousay said.
The Michelin star comes as Goldee’s is already operating close to capacity. The restaurant seats just 48 people at eight tables, and people sometimes have to wait more than two hours in line to get their food.
The owners have discussed the possibility of expanding, Inthanousay said, though they don’t want to lose the atmosphere that has become part of the small restaurant’s identity.
With the inside dining room full, more than 40 people waited in line at Goldee’s BBQ, Thursday Oct. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth.
Bob Booth/The Dallas Morning News
Heard expects the recognition will probably bring in even more customers.
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“I think we’re just going to be a lot busier now,” he said. “I think a lot of people are going to see this and try to flood out Goldee’s.”
Even before the Michelin star announcement, customers were willing to travel long distances to try the food.
Vienneau and Hamel came from Quebec as part of a weeklong trip that began in Louisiana and included stops in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. The trip was a celebration of their 50th birthdays, with a specific goal: to try the best Texas barbecue.
“And we haven’t been disappointed,” Hamel said.
They learned about Goldee’s on YouTube and decided to include it on their itinerary.
Madison Acuña and Kimberly Ovalle work the register area and prepare a tray at Goldee’s BBQ, Thursday Oct. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth.
Bob Booth/The Dallas Morning News
The second customer in line, Karl Finke, traveled from Abilene. He had tried to visit Goldee’s years ago, but the line was so long that he decided to come back another time.
“I wanted to come just because I’ve heard good things about it,” Finke said.
For Shafi, the variety of customers, from local residents to people arriving from other countries, represents what the team wants to preserve.
“At the end of the day, if it’s a local customer, international customer, we want to serve the best food possible,” Shafi said. “Making sure that we’re able to maintain that quality, but also continue to get better.”
Gentry St. Clair jokes around with customers as he tells them about the menu and what they have already sold out of by noon at Goldee’s BBQ, Thursday Oct. 8, 2026, in Fort Worth.
Bob Booth/The Dallas Morning News
Inthanousay said they never imagined receiving international recognition.
Now, as they prepare for a new wave of customers, the owners say their goal remains the same: cook well and improve their service.
Goldee’s BBQ is at 4645 Dick Price Road in Fort Worth. A large, weathered sign along the road indicates that you have arrived.
Imelda García/Staff writer
Goldee’s BBQ is at 4645 Dick Price Road, Fort Worth. It’s open Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. goldeesbbq.com.
What are your biggest surprises from this year’s announcement of the Michelin Guide Texas?
The Michelin Guide Texas revealed its 2026 winners on Oct. 8, 2026.