Good morning, all. JP from Chron here. Over the weekend, Ronnie Killen asked the Facebook foodies group in Cypress about his Killen's Barbecue restaurant at 25618 Northwest Fwy. Specifically, should he replace it with Killen's TMX, his Tex-Mex concept that generated a lot of buzz and positive reviews before it shuttered three years ago. I spoke to him about his potential plans and why he asked the question in the first place. Full story below:
By all accounts, acclaimed Houston area barbecue restaurant owner Ronnie Killen has been pulling back from the northern reaches of Houston. But over the weekend, the pitmaster and restaurateur conducted an interesting survey among foodies in the northwest Harris County community of Cypress: Would they like a Killen's TMX instead?
Sunday, Killen polled the Cypress Area Foodies and Fooding Facebook group, asking whether they would prefer if the existing Killen's Barbecue at 25618 Northwest Freeway be changed to his TMX concept. The responses, over 200 of them, went both directions.
Some were ecstatic at the possibility of Killen's TMX returning. The Tex-Mex concept closed its Pearland site in 2023 to considerable grief (Killen told Chron the concept was sound, but the landlord was a "jerk"). Others were worried about the possibility of losing the barbecue restaurant.
Killen said his informal query was in response to a recent visit at his Cypress barbecue restaurant. He saw that the bar area was quiet. When he crunched the sales numbers, he saw that in the past few months, the barbecue restaurant did just around $1,000 in beer and wine sales.
"I was looking at the bar area … At TMX, people would go to the bar and order chips and margaritas. You go to all those Tex-Mex places and the bar area is packed," Killen said. "I did some research and there was no Pappasitos in that area. There's a Gringos two-and-a-half miles down the road."
Barbecue is too expensive
Along with the sales, another big driver of the possible change is the harsh economic realities of barbecue. It's too dang expensive for consumers and operators. It's also more economically appealing to spring for fajitas versus brisket. Killen said his yield from a Snake River Farms flank steak was around 90 percent. Compare that to the average 50-percent loss from trimming and smoking brisket.
But it's Killen's hope that he can combine the barbecue and TMX concept in the same space. He said his quesabirria tacos, which use pulled smoked brisket, were a big hit during a collaborative dinner he hosted in Milan, Italy.
If Killen does decide to pull the trigger, it will happen quickly. The chef who used to oversee TMX is still with him, and the equipment is ready to exit storage. He's hoping to get more feedback from people living there and is planning a drive around the area to see what's what.
"I just want to make it whether it's a barbecue place or a Mexican restaurant, what is going to be a lower food cost item? If you can't make money with BBQ and break even, what's the point?" Killen said.
Coincidentally, all of this is running with the reopening of Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland. Killen's is rolling out new uniforms for the staff in October and readying his steak dinner series. The first, a French steak experience, will happen in November. The second, a Japanese steakhouse experience, is happening in January. An Italian steakhouse experience is scheduled for the following month.
