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Two North Texas restaurants known for their brisket have closed.\u00a0Crossbuck BBQ closed in Farmers Branch and Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice closed in Plano. Yearby’s is expected to relocate to another Dallas-Fort Worth address; Crossbuck is not.<\/p>\n
Emil Lippe\/Special Contributor<\/p>\n
Two Dallas-Fort Worth barbecue joints have closed\u00a0during a summer of soaring beef prices<\/a>. Farmers Branch restaurant\u00a0Crossbuck BBQ<\/a> is shuttered permanently, and Plano’s Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice\u00a0is relocating to Allen.<\/p>\n The owners of both restaurants have been prominent voices in Dallas-Fort Worth barbecue, and both have been featured on TV:\u00a0Crossbuck’s co-owner Tim McLaughlin competed recently on the Food Network show\u00a0BBQ Brawl<\/a>, and Yearby’s was featured on a PBS special created\u00a0by\u00a0Texas Monthly.<\/p>\n Yearby’s was named among The Dallas Morning News’ best barbecue joints in Dallas-Fort Worth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While skyrocketing beef prices have slammed Texas restaurants<\/a>, as\u00a0The Washington Post\u00a0reported in May 2026, that’s not the full story with Crossbuck and Yearby’s. (Ditto a third D-FW barbecue joint, Ribbee’s<\/a>, which also closed within the past few weeks, though it, too, didn’t blame the cost of brisket.)<\/p>\n Lease negotiations are at the heart of each barbecue joint’s decision to close or relocate.<\/p>\n And also: Barbecue is “a tough business,” McLaughlin said.<\/p>\n Here’s more about\u00a0Crossbuck and Yearby’s.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Crossbuck BBQ, formerly in Farmers Branch<\/p>\n Soon after McLaughlin appeared on BBQ Brawl, he and his business partner Damian Avila closed the Farmers Branch restaurant when their five-year lease was up. The timing was tough, McLaughlin said: He talked about his struggle with alcohol addiction on the Food Network show and received what he described as “an outpouring of support” from viewers.<\/p>\n “It’s been a beautiful thing,” he said.<\/p>\n But the extra attention didn’t save the restaurant, which was struggling, McLaughlin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Owner and chef Tim McLaughlin places ribs in the smoker at Crossbuck BBQ in Farmers Branch in 2023.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n He will continue to produce beef on a ranch outside\u00a0Waco, under the company name Crossbuck Cattle Co. But McLaughlin does not anticipate reopening\u00a0Crossbuck BBQ elsewhere.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He misses the time when buying a tray of smoked meat wasn’t as pricey. Lunch at\u00a0Crossbuck this summer might have cost $45 for one person, he pointed out.<\/p>\n “I love Texas barbecue. I have a deep appreciation and love for it,” he said. “But the menus are starting to get a little lopsided.”<\/p>\n When the lease end date came up, McLaughlin said, it didn’t make financial sense to continue. He called it “a clean, easy break.”<\/p>\n McLaughlin is already working full-time somewhere else \u2014 with a D-FW-based restaurant company he wouldn’t name yet.<\/p>\n Crossbuck BBQ was at 4400 Spring Valley Road, Farmers Branch. It closed in late June 2026.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Crossbuck BBQ in Farmers Branch was an unconventional Texas barbecue joint that served mains like citrus-glazed salmon and veggies.<\/p>\n Emil Lippe\/Special Contributor<\/p>\n Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice, formerly in Plano and Pilot Point<\/p>\n Fans of Yearby’s have patiently followed it across North Texas. The family-owned halal barbecue company started in the small town of Pilot Point, then relocated\u00a0to Plano.<\/a> It was open for less than a year \u2014 during which it made our Best Barbecue list<\/a> \u2014 when the owners announced an abrupt closure of the Plano shop in June 2026<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yearby’s is moving to an undisclosed location in Allen next, with an expected opening date of August 2026, co-owner CJ Henley confirmed to The Dallas Morning News.\u00a0<\/p>\n CJ and Sabrina Henley own Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice,\u00a0which started\u00a0in Pilot Point, grew to Plano and is now headed to Allen.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n The Plano restaurant was not intended to be a long-term home, he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The owners will\u00a0continue to take catering orders as construction finishes in Allen.<\/p>\n Yearby’s is known for its\u00a0brisket mac and cheese, smoked meatloaf and smoked brisket. Waterice, a dairy-free frozen fruit dessert similar to sorbet and sherbet, is a refreshing finisher and a differentiator, as this Philadelphia treat is\u00a0not common in North Texas.<\/p>\n Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice is closed temporarily while it moves\u00a0to Allen.<\/p>\n Claire Ballor<\/p>\n Henley said soaring beef prices are not threatening his\u00a0business. If briskets cost him more to buy, he raises prices.<\/p>\n The move to Allen “has nothing to do with beef prices,” he said. “It was always about finding a lease.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Yearby’s Barbecue and Waterice was at 3201 Alma Drive, Plano. It closed in mid-June 2026. The owners haven’t shared the address for the Allen restaurant yet.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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