A new barbecue pit should allow La Barbecue to cook 30 extra briskets per day.[/caption]
Having been in three locations since opening in 2012, La Barbecue is making the move to a permanent home in 2015.
Since October the barbecue food trailer has operated in East Austin at the Good Life Food Park, which is located along East Cesar Chavez Street near I-35. The operation had previous homes on East Sixth Street and South First Street. However, plans are in the works for La Barbecue to move into an existing brick-and-mortar space along South Congress Avenue in 2015, General Manager Ali Clem said, predicting the move could happen by April or May.
Clem could not confirm the exact location because an existing business still operates there. Once the move becomes official, she said there is not anticipated to be any temporary closure.
"No way—there will be no break in business," Clem said.
In the meantime she said La Barbecue is happy to continue operating in East Austin. Pitmaster John Lewis and his father have nearly completed work on a second brisket barbecue pit, which will allow the business to cook 30 more briskets per day, Clem said. The new pit could be ready by the end of January, she said.
"[Lewis] just sits and thinks about how to make the product better, because when you are talked up as much as we are, we can't afford to have an off day," Clem said. "We're always looking to make sure our brisket, if anything, is always top-notch."
Clem said she is unsure whether either pit will travel to the new location.
Joe Lanane’s career is rooted in community journalism, having worked for a variety of Midwest-area publications before landing south of the Mason-Dixon line in 2011 as the Stillwater News-Press news editor. He arrived at Community Impact Newspaper in 2012, gaining experience as editor of the company’s second-oldest publication in Leander/Cedar Park. He eventually became Central Austin editor, covering City Hall and the urban core of the city.
Lanane leveraged that experience to become Austin managing editor in 2016. He managed eight Central Texas editions from Georgetown to San Marcos. Working from company headquarters, Lanane also became heavily involved in enacting corporate-wide editorial improvements. In 2017, Lanane was promoted to executive editor, overseeing editorial operations throughout the company. The Illinois native received his bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University and his journalism master’s degree from Ball State University.