Eric Mehl takes ribs off the smoker at Brix BBQ.
One day after a Fort Worth-area barbecue joint announced it is expanding, another one announced today that it is closing.
Brix Barbecue, one of the most exciting barbecue restaurants in the city, announced in an email and on social media on Tuesday that it will close next month. Owned and founded by pitmaster Trevor Sales, the restaurant will close on Aug. 17.
"While we love the BBQ World, we have decided it’s time to move on," Sales wrote on social media. "As the restaurant landscape has changed, so have my passions, family life, career, and what’s important to me. I still love to cook and serve others and plan to continue to do that through my private dining concept, Tallow."
Brix was recently recognized on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints list with an honorable mention.
Sales owns the South Main restaurant, which used to be an auto shop. Fort Worth architectural firm DVAM and Sales repurposed the old building, turning it into a sleek, two-story ‘cue joint with rooftop dining and a huge, dog-friendly patio. Sales said on social he’ll either lease or sell the space.
Brix Barbecue, which Sales named after his rescue dog, launched in 2017 as a pop-up. After a brief stint at the now-defunct Americado food hall, Sales and his wife Katlynn landed an outdoor spot on Bryan Avenue, where they sold excellent brisket, housemade sausage and fantastic smashburgers out of a vintage Airstream trailer.
There Sales made a name for himself as not only an expert pitmaster but also as an edgy cook unafraid to push the boundaries of barbecue - a philosophy he expanded when he opened the brick-and-mortar version of Brix, just a few blocks away, in 2023.
In addition to traditional craft barbecue, Brix serves speciality dishes such as an Italian brisket sandwich, Sales’ take on an Italian beef; smoked and fried chicken wings; “Texas Porchetta,” smoked pork belly stuffed with herbs; a stellar Nashville hot chicken sandwich; smoked and chopped pork jowl tacos; pulled pork quesadillas; and steak frites. Every week, it seems, Sales introduces a cool, new special.
Brix is the only local barbecue spot to fully embrace brunch, with items such as burnt-end topped pancakes and huge breakfast burritos stuffed with brisket, sausage and eggs.
“Over the next 3 weeks we are going to be serving things we've made for specials over the years that you all loved,” Sales wrote on social. “For starters, the Funkytown Hot Chicken Sandwich will be served all weekend long this week. Stay tuned for what else we're pulling out of the woodworks. Please come out to support the staff these next 3 weeks, a lot of you guys are like family to myself and them.”
On Monday, local pitmaster Dayne Weaver announced on social media a second location of his Aledo-based 'cue joint, Dayne's Craft Barbecue, will soon open in Taiwan.
