The Texas barbecue plate has never been more inviting. It’s hard not to drool when anybody hands you a metal plate and butcher paper stacked with brisket, ribs, sausage and sides. But two Houston operators on opposite ends of the metropolitan area are having different problems with the traditional setup.
At Tin Roof BBQ in Humble, the Weber family is finding some of their customers can’t eat as much as they used to. And at Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland, owner Ronnie Killen just thinks everybody has lost the plot.
Tin Roof BBQ Pitmaster Brek Weber and his sister and director of operations Kacee Richter had noticed a trend among their senior clientele.
“Initially, I had a few senior citizen customers ask if we had a senior citizen meal. We do not,” Richter told Chron. “But a lot would order off the kid’s menu. One of those is a brisket plate, a quarter pound with a side and a kiddy cup.”
According to Weber and Richter, those specific customers were looking for something more economical and a little lighter on the stomach. Richter admitted she can’t eat Tin Roof BBQ’s one meat dinner plate (half a pound of meat) by herself. The two brainstormed and came up with two value meals that would be a better fit for seniors:
Brisket value meal – .3lb of sliced or chopped brisket, 1 steam table side, large drink ($15)
BBQ value meal – .3lb of turkey, pulled pork, sausage, 1 steam table side, large drink ($13)
Since launching the deal at the start of October, Weber and Richter said sales have been going “great.” When adults ask for the kids meal, staff at Tin Roof BBQ know to pitch the value meals instead. In addition to seniors, Richter said there was one big muscle guy who expressed gratitude for the option because that was all he could eat.
A promotional flyer for Killen’s Barbecue’s Working Man’s Lunch, a $13.95 value barbecue tray. Different operators in Greater Houston are tweaking the traditional meal deal for different reasons. (Ronnie Killen/Courtesy to Chron)
In Pearland, Killen said he’s grown tired of the direction Texas barbecue has headed. Sides have become needlessly complicated and prices continue to go up on items that used to be pennies on the dollar.
“Everybody wants to sell these $200 trays. The average person is not going to be able to afford that,” Killen said.
It’s why Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland created the $13 “Working man’s lunch” special. Ditching the typical creamed corn, mac and cheese and brussel sprouts, Killen went back to early years of Central Texas barbecue. The plate is simply four ounces of brisket, a quarter link of sausage, potato salad and beans.
Typically, a plate like that would sell for $25. The hope, Killen said, is that people buy other things around it. He’s been running the special off and on since August and is already planning a comeback on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
It’s a little bit of menu reengineering at a time when barbecue operations are facing increasing threats inside and out. While the overall U.S. cattle herd is stabilizing, inventory is low enough (and the demand high enough) that beef prices continue to rise. Elsewhere, weakened consumer spending has forced many to reconsider going out to eat as much.
Tweaking prices and adjusting the size of the typical tray is one tool that operators can use to sell product.
“For people who are cutting back, that is sufficient,” Richter said. “It serves a lot of markets. A lot of people are struggling, so anything we can do to help.”
More Food & Drink
Changes | Former Dallas Albertsons store to be renovated into Central Market
| Austin’s Blue Agave Tex-Mex restaurant permanently closes
Exits | Economic woes force Central Texas Mexican restaurant to close
Transformations | H Mart opening new Sugar Land store in former Kroger
For more food news and features from Chron, sign up for The Feed newsletter here.
This article originally published at On different sides of Houston, two pitmasters rethink value barbecue tray.