Dallas BBQ (sometimes locally referred as "BBQ's"), is a restaurant dining chain in New York City, founded in 1978 by the Wetanson family. The restaurant is known for their Texas-style barbecue ribs, chicken and steaks. There are currently ten locations opened around the New York metropolitan area.
History
In 1936, Carl and Grace Wetanson began a family-run restaurant business "Grace’s Luncheonette" on 42nd Street, Manhattan (currently the same address as the Dallas BBQ's 42nd-street flagship restaurant in Times Square). In the 1960s Carl's son Herbert, later developed Wetson's, which became a hamburger chain in New York City in the 1970s serving over 70 restaurants. The family then opened a new restaurant in the Upper West Side section of Manhattan. naming it Dallas BBQ in 1978 and the franchise grew and operated up to the present day, currently owned by the three generations: Herbert, Greg, and Stuart Wetanson.
The restaurant chain offered southern dining in New York City with a location in the East Village section of Manhattan since the 1980s. However this branch closed on New Years Day, 2023, due to the lease agreement not being renewed by the landlord. The closure followed that of their first location in the Upper West Side, on 72nd street between Columbus and Central Park West, which closed after 36 years of operation on December 31, 2014.
The dining chain have operated twelve restaurants since 1978 with ten remaining currently. There have been proposed developments for a New Jersey location but has this is yet to be confirmed. Since the closure of the East Village location, a new restaurant is currently in development, set to open in East New York, Brooklyn by 2024.
In 2015, a couple was assaulted in the 23rd street restaurant. In 2017, a patron was attacked by another patron.
The Dallas BBQ Times Square location was used in the TruTV reality television show Impractical Jokers (season 10, episode 9), where the pranksters led Sal Vulcano to act as a clumsy waiter at the restaurant responding to their relay of directions to be fulfilled in efforts prank the patrons. The East Village location was also a subject of a 2014 comedy spoof "Dallas BBQ Club" directed by Ben Rimalower, as a parody to the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club. The mock trailer follows a man who creates his own 'club' as a protest of former New York City Mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg push to ban large sugary drinks at retail establishments. He illegally sells mock meals of the franchise to the street locals
Notable clientele of the restaurant include Jim Jones, Cam'ron, Nia Kay, Melvin Ingram, Azealia Banks, and the Mayor of New York City Eric Adams.
Menu
The menu offers a range of starters, meals and combo selections including meat, seafood, vegetable, salads, sandwiches' and sides dishes. It began offering a Beyond Burger plant based option. There are also childrens' meals.
The BBQ Chicken & Ribs menu selections offers meals served with cornbread and a choice of one side: Also under the meal selections are ribs, steaks, shrimp, and chicken & waffles. Chicken can be ordered by the half, quarter or wings. .
A choice of 'Hot', 'Sticky' and 'Hennessy' sauces are special options available for chicken, ribs and burgers as well as 'Pineapple' sauces available for shrimp. Some locations offer taco bowls, with various bowl selections of turkey, chicken, steak, shrimp and salmon.
Alcoholic beverages and cocktails are served.
Wetanson generations
Carl Wetanson (born 1912 – died 1995) – Founder of Grace's Luncheonette & Dallas BBQ Grace Wetanson (b.1915 – d.2007) – Founder of Grace's Luncheonette & Dallas BBQ Hebert Wetanson (b. 1937) – Co-founder of Wetson's & current co-owner of Dallas BBQ Errol Wetanson (b.1940 – d.2019) – Co-owner Wetson's Liza Wetanson (b.1961) – Previous co-owner of Dallas BBQ Greg Wetanson (b. 1968) – Current co-owner of Dallas BBQ & Tony's DiNapoli Stuart Wetanson (b. 1989) – Current co-owner of Dallas BBQ, Tony's DiNapoli & Bistro LeSteak
Locations
The chain currently has restaurants in Manhattan (Chelsea, Times Square, Upper East Side, Washington Heights); The Bronx (Co-op City, Fordham Road); Queens (Jamaica, Rego Park), and Brooklyn (Downtown Brooklyn, Nostrand Ave/Flatbush Junction).
Previous restaurants were located on the Upper West Side (1978–2014) and East Village (1980s – 2022).