Dallas BBQ

Dallas BBQ
Industry
  • Restaurant
  • Bar
Predecessor
Founded1978; 47 years ago (1978) in New York City
FounderCarl & Grace Wetanson
HeadquartersTimes Square,
New York City
,
United States
Number of locations
11 (current); 2 (defunct)
Area served
New York metropolitan area
Products
ServicesLunch|Dinner|Catering
Owner
  • Herbert Wetanson (current)
  • Greg Wetanson (current)
  • Stuart Wetanson (current)
Websitehttps://www.dallasbbq.com/

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 serves Texas-style barbecue ribs, chicken and steaks. As of 2023 the chain had ten restaurants 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.[1][2]

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.[3]

The dining chain have operated twelve restaurants since 1978, with eleven remaining as of 2024, with the recent closing of The East Village restaurant, and a new location in East New York, Brooklyn which opened in February 2024.[citation needed]

In 2015, a couple was assaulted in the 23rd street restaurant.[4] In 2017, one diner attacked another.[5]

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.[6] 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[7]

Notable clientele of the restaurant include Jim Jones, Cam'ron, Nia Kay, Melvin Ingram, Azealia Banks,[8] and New York City mayor Eric Adams.[9]

Dallas BBQ Ribs & Chicken combo, served with fries, cornbread and soup

The menu lists meat, seafood, vegetable, salads, sandwiches, and sides dishes, a Beyond Burger plant-based option, and children's meals. 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[10]
  • 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[11]
  • 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[12]

Locations

The chain as of 2024 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 and East New York/Gateway Center Mall).

Previous restaurants were located on the Upper West Side (1978–2014)[13] and East Village (1980s – 2022).

References

  1. ^ Gardner Jr, Ralph (2012-04-19). "Dinner for Thousands". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  2. ^ Rahmanan, Anna (2022-12-09). "New Yorkers react to the imminent closing of Dallas BBQ in the East Village". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  3. ^ Sider, West (2014-12-22). "DALLAS BBQ TO CLOSE AFTER 36 YEARS ON 72ND STREET". West Side Rag. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  4. ^ "Suspect found guilty in chair attack on gay couple inside Dallas BBQ". ABC7 New York. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  5. ^ Rajamani, Maya (2017-05-04). "Dallas BBQ Patron Hits Woman in Face During Fight Over Bill, Police Say". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  6. ^ "Impractical Jokers - Sal Vulcano, Clumsy Waiter | truTV". YouTube. 21 February 2020.
  7. ^ Desk, Movies News. "VIDEO: 'Dallas BBQ Club' Parodies DALLAS BUYERS CLUB for Oscars Week". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Allah, Sha Be (2020-02-17). "Jim Jones and Friends Take Over Dallas BBQ in NYC". The Source. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  9. ^ Moses, Dean (2022-03-07). "Making the rounds mask-free: Mayor Adams tours East Village businesses on first day without mask or vaccine mandates in NYC | amNewYork". www.amny.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  10. ^ "Grace Wetanson Obituary (2007) – New York, NY – New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  11. ^ "ERROL WETANSON Obituary (1940–2019) – New York, NY – New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  12. ^ "Small Prices, Big City | QSR magazine". www.qsrmagazine.com. October 2013. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  13. ^ Sider, West (2014-12-22). "DALLAS BBQ TO CLOSE AFTER 36 YEARS ON 72ND STREET". West Side Rag. Retrieved 2023-09-25.