Atascocita restaurant Tin Roof BBQ brings family together through food

Brek starts the daily kitchen prep as early as 4 a.m. Diners will spot him right away in his red apron and cleaver in hand. Brek’s sister Kacee manages the restaurant’s catering business and marketing efforts.

Pitmaster Ronnie oversees orders of Creekstone Prime beef and prepares the meats for the Big Red smokers, the heart of the business. The smokers devour two cords of red oak wood a month to yield an average of 225 briskets a week.

To satisfy every palate, the restaurant serves a wide variety of meat: brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, sausage, smoked turkey and chicken.

Nancy’s side dishes follow what is in season, including made-from-scratch cornbread, coleslaw and potato salad.

“Sometimes fellas will come in and just order a quarter-pound of mac ‘n’ cheese to go,” cashier Carol Samford said.

Samford and baker Laverne Cutrell have been devoted helping hands since the early years. Customers choose Cutrell’s peach cobbler and pecan pie for dessert, but cinnamon bread, monkey bread and blueberry coffee cake sweeten the menu, Samford said.

“Our Texas sheet cake is a favorite. The children really like the ones with sprinkles and in bright colors,” Samford said.