For Central Texas Bar-B-Q owner Devon Nixon, barbecue is a way of life.

His grandmother Diana LeClere and mother, Ruth LeClere, began working at the restaurant in 1969 and bought it in 1970. In 1976, Nixon was born into the family business.

“When I was just a baby, they would keep me behind the counter and put a rib in front of me,” he said. “I would hang out and chew on a rib. It kept me quiet throughout the day.”

Years later, after attending classes at San Jacinto Community College, Nixon said he was summoned back to take care of the business.

With Diana and Ruth still on the job, Central Texas features four generations working in the restaurant. Nixon’s sons, Julian, Jude and Devon II, all work part-time.

Despite all of those years of experience, he said the restaurant’s barbecue method has remained consistent.

“We use hickory and a simple dry rub,” Nixon said. “We don’t get technical with marinating and coating and doing all the new stuff that people are doing. We do it pretty much old-school. It’s the same way meat has been being smoked for the last 1,000 years. It’s not that complicated.”

The traditional approach has paid off for the family as Nixon said he goes through roughly 20,000 pounds of raw brisket each month.

He said he handles the barbecue pits the same way he prepares the meat: old-school. Nixon does not use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the pit or the meat.

“I can tell by the way it smells if it’s too hot,” he said. “I can tell by looking at a brisket if it’s cooked or needs to stay on for another hour. It’s part of our life.”

Having been open for nearly five decades, Nixon said the success of the restaurant can be traced simply to patience.

“We’ve grown very slowly,” he said. “Just as if you were building a building, you build a good foundation.”

Central Texas Bar-B-Q

4110 W. Broadway St., Pearland 281-485-9626 www.centralbbq.com Hours: Mon.-Sun. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.