WEST, Texas — A local barbecue joint in West is going to be featured on "America's Best Restaurants." Jarell Baker visited the restaurant to get a bite to eat and see what the restaurant is all about.
- Smokey Bears BBQ & Rib House in West will be featured on “America’s Best Restaurants.”
- The place opened four years ago and now it’s grown into one of the best eateries in America.
- Black Pot Cajun Cuisine, formerly Friday’s Seafood and More, will also be featured on “America’s Best Restaurants.”
BROADCAST SCRIPT:
Getting a bite to eat from Smokey Bears BBQ & Rib House is a must, for many in West.
“Going in there and sitting down all day buying cattle, you really don’t have anywhere else to eat. It’s nice that it’s a good restaurant here,” loyal customer Logan Farmer said.
Logan Farmer said most days he eats at the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He even has his own burrito named after him.
“It’s a running deal for us whenever I come in he makes it so big to challenge me to try and eat it,” Farmer said.
“One day I made this massive burrito. We had three or four pieces of sausage and the works in it. He came out and said what in the world is that,” Smokey Bears BBQ & Rib House Owner Mike Owens said.
Owens said they started out doing curbside BBQ in Gholston in 2020 during the middle of the pandemic. Since moving to the West Auction House in 2022 they’ve become a community staple.
“They ask us why do you call yourself a ‘BBQ restaurant?’ We do all kinds of stuff now. We just don’t do barbecue; we do breakfast and all that stuff. I say ‘I wonder that myself,’” Owens said.
Now they’re being nationally recognized and featured on “America’s Best Restaurant.”
“That feels amazing. We’re just shocked they called us and said we’re gonna be featured on their show," Owens said.
While the recognition is surprising for this small town many say it’s also well deserved.
“It’s definitely a community. The cattle business as a whole is a community. Here we see these guys every week that you see throughout the week at other sales. It’s a lot better to do it around a good meal," Farmer said.
That episode the restaurant is featured in is set to air in mid-March. Black Pot Cajun Cuisine, formerly Friday’s Seafood and More, will also be featured on “America’s Best Restaurants.”
