Where\u2019s the beef? Not in Texas \u2014 at least, not as much as it used to be.<\/p>\n
Texas barbecue joints are shutting their doors across the Lone Star State as sky-high beef prices turn brisket \u2014 once the centerpiece of a blue-collar meal \u2014 into a luxury item that many customers can no longer afford.<\/p>\n
From Houston suburbs to rural smokehouses, pitmasters say soaring wholesale beef costs, inflation and shrinking customer traffic are crushing margins and forcing some of the state\u2019s most celebrated BBQ institutions out of business.<\/p>\n
Soaring wholesale beef costs, inflation and shrinking customer traffic are crushing margins, according to Texas-based pitmasters. Kirby\u00e2s BBQ \/ Instagram<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is as bad as it gets,\u201d Houston-area pitmaster Russell Roegels told the Washington Post. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s at risk these days: You\u2019re one bad week from closing.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the casualties is Brett\u2019s BBQ Shop in Katy, which closed late last year after seven years in business, according to Texas Monthly. <\/a><\/p>\n The once-beloved smokehouse struggled with a steep rise in operating costs while customers cut back as menu prices climbed.<\/p>\n Kirby\u2019s BBQ in New Caney also shuttered after owner Shawn Jones<\/a> warned that \u201cabsolutely insane\u201d brisket prices were making barbecue prohibitively expensive for middle-class families.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer and then you got ribs and sausage and sides and desserts and all that \u2026 you can easily be spending $70 to $100 for barbecue,\u201d Jones told his followers on YouTube.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just not something that most of middle America can do as often as they would need to to support most barbecue joints.\u201d<\/p>\n Other closures include acclaimed Fort Worth smokehouse Sabar Barbecue, East Texas staple Wright On Taco & BBQ, Hill City Chop House in Tolar and Sweetie Pie\u2019s Ribeyes in North Texas.<\/p>\n The carnage comes as the domestic cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level in roughly 75 years following years of drought, soaring feed prices and mounting operational costs.<\/p>\n Ground beef prices are up more than 15% from a year ago, while pitmasters say wholesale brisket now routinely costs $5 to $6 per pound before smoking, trimming and labor \u2014 forcing some restaurants to charge as much as $35 to $40 per pound just to stay afloat.<\/p>\n The domestic cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest level in roughly 75 years following years of drought, soaring feed prices and mounting operational costs. Laurence \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Industry leaders say the economics of brisket have become nearly impossible for small operators.<\/p>\n