The love of good barbecue was instilled in the Maeker family long before they opened a restaurant of their own.
“It was always Lyndon’s favorite type of food to cook and eat,” Matt Maeker said of his father, after whom the restaurant is named. “He talked about opening a barbecue place up while he worked in oil fields and was finally able to after he retired.”
Matt and his brother Mark both went to school for restaurant and hotel management at Texas Tech University, and Matt went on to work at Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse in Dallas before opening the restaurant with his family in August 1997.
After spending their first 10 years in a 5,000-square-foot building in a strip center, the family opened up in their current location in 2007.
“Most of our customers were Lyndon’s friends when we first started,” Matt said. “At our new location we were turning tables over three times a day.”
The eatery’s menu has evolved from exclusively barbecue to include fried shrimp and catfish, country fried steak and smoked prime rib, which is available as a specialty on Thursdays and Fridays. Menu items are all made fresh in-house, including side orders, and were inspired by family recipes.
“The potato salad is my Aunt Betty’s,” Matt said. “The spicy corn casserole came from a cousin of mine. The Charro-style beans [recipe] is from one of my dad’s friends.”
The development of a distinct barbecue flavor has been a family affair, Matt said. Coming up with the mop sauce, the barbecue rub and a vinegar-based sauce for the pulled pork were a group effort. Meats are cooked overnight typically for 14 hours.
After they first opened, Matt and Mark said they did not have a single day off for six months. Matt was the first meat cutter, Mark worked as a cashier and Lyndon did prep work.
Since that time, the family has assembled a dedicated team, including employees who have been with the business since the beginning.
“Most of our people have been with us in excess of five years,” Mark said. “It’s good for us because they know our recipes. It’s great to have our customers see the same people when they come in over the years as well.”
