Railroad Bar-B-Que restaurants closing in Manchaca, Kyle
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Railroad Bar-B-Que in Manchaca, 04.15.14
By Julie Chang
American-Statesman Staff
A Manchaca barbecue joint that prides itself on being an iconic “hole-in-the-wall” will serve its last brisket sandwich on Sunday.
Run-ins with the Travis County fire marshal’s office and a subsequent decision by the landlord to sell the land has forced Railroad Bar-B-Que to close its Manchaca location on FM 1626. Its Kyle restaurant will also close on Sunday. The Drippings Springs location will remain open.
Dan Sherrill, one of the owners, held back tears on Tuesday as he explained how four generations of his family have worked at the original location in Manchaca.
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for us,” Sherrill said. “We want to go out on a positive note.”
Sherrill said his family made the difficult decision over the past several weeks after months of communicating and waiting for word from the fire marshal’s office. In January, they gave him a list of items to bring his restaurant up to code. Some of the items he did, such as installing exit signs and an emergency fire exit. But some were just too expensive to do, he said.
Among the pricier improvements were to replace the hood in the cooking area and to install fire-retardant materials in the wall. Sherrill estimates it would have cost at least $10,000 to make all the upgrades. The office gave him until the end of April to do them or face fines and closure.
The Travis County fire marshal’s office did not return calls for comment.
Sherrill said that the office has overexercised its authority. He said that the law allows businesses built before 2005 to bypass many of the requirements. Railroad Bar-B-Que was built in 1981. But the office told him that the building wasn’t even up to code by 1980s standards.
“We made all the requirements that the county had asked of us that time,” Sherrill said. “We deserve the right to stay open.”
Although a South Austin location is in the works, Sherrill said the most difficult thing about closing the original joint is disappointing the repeat customers. He has contacted his first customer from 1981 with hopes he will be the last one to dine there on Sunday.
Robby Helens has been going to Railroad since 1992 when he was in high school. Helens lives down the street in Manchaca and has watched the restaurant go through upgrades and staff changes, but the wholesome atmosphere has always remained, he said.
“They’re trying to provide a good product to honest people and make a living,” said Helens, his hands hovering a mesquite-smoked brisket sandwich. “We’re losing that.”
The loyalty is written on the walls of the small restaurant, where a slathering of customer-donated license plates from all over the country hang. Also hanging proudly on the wall is a framed newspaper article about a customer who served in the first Gulf War and had painted the name of the restaurant on a bomb he dropped in Iraq.
“My dad used to take me here after baseball games. I remember one time after a baseball game I came in and fell down right there. I cut my chin pretty good,” recalled 23-year-old Eric Rivera. “But I still ate first then went to the hospital after. It’s good food.”