One of Texas’s most acclaimed barbecue restaurants has removed brisket from its menu as surging beef costs put growing pressure on America’s beloved smokehouses.
Butter’s BBQ in Sinton, Texas, has stopped serving the state’s signature cut after wholesale prices climbed so dramatically that owner and pitmaster Andrew Soto said he could no longer offer it at a sustainable price.
Soto said he made the decision after the price of brisket rose by $1 a pound in just one week.
Passing that increase on to customers would have forced him to lift the price from $37 to $51 per pound — a charge he was not prepared to impose.
“That was the final straw that broke the camel’s back,” Soto told The Washington Post.
Beef prices across the United States have soared amid elevated grain costs, inflation, higher interest rates and, in some regions, drought.
According to an August consumer price index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics., steak prices increased 4 percent over the previous year, while ground beef rose 7.2 percent and beef roasts climbed 8.4 percent.
Butter’s BBQ is now confronting those higher costs directly. In a social media announcement, the restaurant said it would remove its most recognizable dish and explained that brisket had come to represent more than 70 percent of its total inventory expenses.
Butter’s BBQ in Sinton, Texas, removed brisket from its menu after wholesale prices rose so sharply that owner Andrew Soto said the restaurant could no longer afford to serve it.
Restaurant owner and pitmaster Andrew Soto said the decision followed a $1-per-pound increase in brisket prices over a single week.
“We apologize tremendously. We’ve done all we can to combat the constant price hikes, but we can no longer sustain our current business model,” the restaurant wrote.
The decision carries particular weight because Butter’s BBQ is the first restaurant on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s top 50 smokehouses to remove brisket altogether, according to Daniel Vaughn, the magazine’s barbecue editor.
The move underscores the mounting challenges facing independent barbecue restaurants across Texas, where owners say higher operating costs are making it harder to remain in business.
Soto’s restaurant is in Sinton, a community of about 6,000 residents roughly 20 miles north of Corpus Christi. He said sales during one recent weekend were 60 percent lower than during the same period last year.
Rather than shut down, Butter’s BBQ plans to offer smoked beef cheeks as a more affordable replacement.
Even so, the change marks a significant break from the restaurant’s identity, which has long centered on one of Texas barbecue’s most cherished staples.
Butter’s is far from the only Texas smokehouse feeling the strain.
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Several barbecue businesses have closed in recent months, including Fiasco BBQ in Austin, Kelly’s Hill Country BBQ in Wimberley, Lenox Bar-B-Q in Houston, Brett’s BBQ Shop west of Houston, Sabar BBQ in Fort Worth and Wright On Taco & BBQ in East Texas.
Butter’s BBQ said brisket had grown to more than 70 percent of its total inventory costs, after the cut sold for $30 per pound at the restaurant in 2023.
Butter’s BBQ is the first restaurant on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s top 50 smokehouses to remove brisket entirely.
The soaring cost of beef is a major factor, with the US cattle herd shrinking to its lowest level in 75 years after prolonged drought conditions.
US Department of Agriculture figures show average retail beef prices reached a record $9.64 per pound in April, up 13 percent from a year earlier.
Industry experts have also pointed to higher operating costs since the pandemic, meatpacker pricing and tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump as factors squeezing businesses.
For barbecue restaurants, brisket is particularly expensive because it requires long cooking times and significant preparation, while customers are already struggling with higher food prices.
Shawn Jones, who ran Kirby’s BBQ in New Caney, Texas, announced that his restaurant would close at the end of 2025, citing unsustainable beef prices.
‘With brisket being our biggest seller here in Texas, that is really weighing on our profit margins,’ Jones told his followers on YouTube.
He warned that a barbecue meal could easily cost customers between $70 and $100 once ribs, sausage, sides and desserts were included.
‘That’s just not something that most of middle America can do as often as they would need to to support most barbecue joints,’ he said.
For barbecue restaurants, brisket is particularly expensive because it requires long cooking times inside the smoker and significant preparation
Russell Roegels, who owns two barbecue restaurants in Houston, told The Washington Post that the industry was facing an unprecedented squeeze.
‘This is as bad as it gets,’ he said. ‘Everybody’s at risk these days: You’re one bad week from closing.’
For Butter’s BBQ, removing brisket may help keep the doors open, but it marks a painful moment for a restaurant whose identity is built around Texas barbecue.
Soto acknowledged how difficult the decision was.
‘It’s a gut punch,’ he said. ‘It really does hurt.’
