A good old Texas BBQ has got to be one of life's finest luxuries. But, things might be getting more exclusive if this tragic news is anything to go by.
That's because, as reported by the New York Post, several iconic BBQ joints are being forced to shut their doors. And it all comes down to beef prices flying through the roof.
Texas, being the capital of BBQ, has been the biggest hit. Areas once thriving with wonderful BBQ smokehouses are now graveyards, shells of what they once used to be.
As Russell Roegels, a Houston-based joint owner, put it during an interview with the Washington Post, "Everybody's at risk these days... You're one bad week from closing... This is as bad as it gets."
Brett's BBQ Shop in Katy, Kirby's BBQ in New Caney, Sabar Barbecue in Forth Worth... the list goes on and on. It's really a tragic sight to see.
Kirby's BBQ's owner, Shawn Jones, revealed the truly insane price that brisket has gotten up to. "When brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer and then you got ribs and sausage and sides and desserts and all that... you can easily be spending $70 to $100 for barbecue."
It's that expensive on the customer's side - and BBQ joints are shutting down because they can't claw money back? Something must have gone really wrong somewhere.
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Sky-High Cattle Prices Are the Crux of the Problem for BBQ Joints
The reason why all these BBQ joints are being taken like lambs (cattles?) to the slaughter is because of cattle.
Several environmental and economic factors means that cattle just aren't as profitable as they used to be, meaning people aren't all that keen on raising them. Drought, feed prices also rising, as well as operational costs means that the domestic cattle herd is at its lowest level in 75 years.
And that's showing in the prices of meat, too. Ground beef has saw a 15% rise. And brisket is the worst offender - costing $5-6 per lb. And that's before trimming - they're basically buying half fat!
We hope that one of America's most rich culinary experiences manages to stave off extinction in such a harsh climate.
