FORT WORTH
An Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque is coming to Denton, or is it?
Co-owner Wes Hutchins of the booming Roy Hutchins restaurants in Arlington and Trophy Club posted social media images on Instagram.com Sept. 4 showing a large barbecue restaurant labeled “Future Denton Texas.”
That would be easy to believe, because one reason Hutchins split from other brothers at the older Hutchins BBQ locations in Collin County is that he wanted to expand.
But it’s also easy to doubt.
For one thing, Hutchins had posted exactly the same photo July 25 on Instagram and also on Facebook.com.
The scene he posted July 25 is labeled “Future Rockwall Texas.”
No exact location is given for either restaurant. The Rockwall location is described as opening late in 2027.
If you’re not familiar with the story, Hutchins is the maverick in the Hutchins BBQ business.
When he and his brothers, Tim and Trey Hutchins, disagreed on whether to expand the company past their original home in Collin County, Wes Hutchins broke away. He started his own barbecue operation in Trophy Club at the north edge of Tarrant County, arguing that his barbecue was closer to their dad’s.
After a tense year of sniping and trolling each other, the family members agreed to bury the butcher knife, and the Original Roy Hutchins empire added an Arlington location near AT&T Stadium.
The Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque location on Interstate 30 near AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
But it didn’t take long for the conflict to return.
Lately, Wes Hutchins has resumed mocking his family, posting that his brothers “got a little cocky and greedy” and that the family story is full of “greed and disrespect.”
The bickering hasn’t affected The Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque
After only a few weeks at the newer Arlington location, it is ringing up strong numbers as baseball and soccer fans come for the “dinosaur” beef ribs or smoked prime rib-eye steak.
The Trophy Club location gets a sparkling 4.8 score out of a possible 5 from users. On Google.com, it gets a tough 4.5 score.
The Arlington location’s scores are not as high, but now that the World Cup soccer throngs have moved on, it’s improving.
Customers did not know about the recent edgy conflict among the brothers unless the patrons were on Instagram or Threads.
Wes Hutchins did not return a message left Sunday night. He has continued to post comments about Denton and Rockwall locations along with AI-generated illustrations.
One image places a new location in “Rockwell.”
In another, a neon sign flickers “BBO” instead of BBQ, a surefire sign of AI.
“Roy Hutchins bbq coming to Denton TX 2028,” Wes Hutchins or some employee posted.
North Texas would welcome that.
The Original Roy Hutchins Barbeque is open for lunch and dinner daily at 3000 Texas 114, Trophy Club, and at 1600 E. Copeland Road (the Interstate 30 access road) in Arlington; royhutchinsbbq.com.
The Original Roy Hutchins Barbecue is located at 000 TX-114, Trophy Club. This BBQ spot opened in 2023 from the same family who owns Hutchins Barbecue. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
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This story was originally published September 7, 2026 at 4:30 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.
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