Jill Grobowsky Bergus and her husband, Jeff (center) with business partner and chef Tim McLaughlin launched Lockhart Smokehouse in Plano in 2014.[/caption]

Jill Grobowsky Bergus and her husband, Jeff, said they wanted to bring the traditional barbecue of Lockhart, Texas, to Dallas and Plano.

Jill’s family has been in the Central Texas barbecue business since the 1940s. In a town of about 13,000 people, she said everyone knew each other and barbecue had always been a part of her childhood and adult life.

Along with neighbor, friend, culinary chef and business partner Tim McLaughlin, the Berguses opened their first Lockhart Smokehouse location in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas in 2011. In early 2014, the owners opened a second location in Historic Downtown Plano.

The owners wanted to maintain the authentic taste of the food and ambiance of Kreuz Market in Lockhart. The neighborhood feel of downtown Plano and its historic buildings were a natural fit for barbecue, Jeff said.

“What I really loved about this place was that when you walked in, it was still the 1920s,” Jeff said. “It has the exposed walls, the wooden floors. I mean, it just had the feel already.”

The meat at Lockhart Smokehouse is served by weight and paired with a variety of sides. The downtown Plano location uses a heavier rub on its beef, pork and chicken when compared to the cuts of meat served in Lockhart.

The pitmaster at both Lockhart Smokehouse locations smokes the meat on a wood fire and serves it to patrons on butcher paper, similar to the way it is served in Lockhart. The restaurant, whose motto is, “No forks, no sauce needed,” stays open each day until all of its food is sold.

“It is the experience of eating on a butcher paper. It is very emblematic of Lockhart, Texas,” Jill said.

The barbecue served at Kreuz Market does not offer forks or sauce, but McLaughlin said they decided to make such options available in Plano.

Lockhart serves brisket ($8.99/half pound) and jalapeno and cheese sausage ($5.25/link).[/caption]

“We discovered that when you tell people that they can’t have something, they want it that much more,” Jill said. “Now, we are happy when they have a little cup of sauce on the side and they are not using it.”

When the restaurant first opened, McLaughlin said it only served traditional sides, such as beans and potato salad. In order to tailor the menu to the taste buds of urban restaurantgoers, they decided to offer other sides, such as macaroni and cheese, blue cheese coleslaw and deviled eggs.

Lockhart’s pit boss, Jeremy McWilliams, serves customers at the Plano location.[/caption]

McLaughlin said he learned the authentic style of barbecue from the owner of Kreuz Market, and brought back what he learned to design a menu for North Texas with a different flair.

“We use a little bit heavier rub on the beef, pork and chicken, more spices, more complex,” he said. “At the end of the day, we are still trying to recreate that feeling you get in the barbecue restaurants in Lockhart.”