Ever Heard Of The 1800’s BBQ War In El Paso?

BBQ is sacred in Texas. So sacred that, about 100 years ago, it was at the heart of a BBQ war that divided El Paso and actually wound up in court.

The oldest, currently operating, bbq joint in El Paso is, (as far as I know), Tony's The Pit BBQ. They've been turnin' and burnin' since the late 1950's.

BBQ in El Paso stretches back to the 1800's, (at least), and as the 19th century came to a close, it sparked a huge debate in El Paso that ultimately had to be settled by a judge.

In 1899, Wall Street BBQ opened up in an adobe building in an alley, just off San Antonio Street. The founder knew how to bbq and the business was doing great when he sold it to go look for gold in Mexico.

From there, Wall Street BBQ changed owners several times. The second to the last owner was a man named Carl Theis. In 1907, he got tired of bbqing and sold Wall Street to Henry Ballard and Joseph Franklin who thought they were the only game in town.

Enter Pioneer BBQ

Turns out Theis wasn't ready to retire yet after all and very soon, his wife Christine opened Pioneer BBQ. Ballard and Franklin were way PO'd, saying Carl opened up under his wife's name to dodge an agreement he made with them NOT to open a competing bbq joint in El Paso.

Who Won The El Paso BBQ War?

The townsfolk were divided and the matter went to court where a judge ruled in favor of Theis, allowing him to remain open. He didn't really win though ... not much anyway. About 2 years later, in 1909, Theis took out an ad looking for work as a cook.

What About Wall Street BBQ?

Wall Street BBQ kept going until 1918. An ad in the newspaper that year offered for sale "the oldest barbecue place in town."

READ MORE: Was The Wild West's Deadliest Gunfight In El Paso?

The building at 414 Mesa soon ended its run as a barbecue joint and became an auto service offering chauffeured cars. Today the location of the barbecue joint would align with the parking garage entrance off Mesa into One San Jacinto Plaza. Henry Ballard retired, then died at age 81 in 1931, the same year his grandson Conger Ballard Jr. was born. - texasmonthly

Funny side story ... Ballard's grandson became a successful song writer. One of his songs was a big hit in the 70's for Linda Ronstadt.

"You're No Good"????

I wonder if that was one last jab at Theis.  Hmmm ...

Today, El Pasoans have lots of bbq joints to choose from and they offer some good stuff that, I daresay, is probably a little better than what you got in an alley in old El Paso. My best "go-to", Rib Hut, opened their third location in 2024.