New School Content for Old School Businesses | Evan LeRoy (LeRoy and Lewis) | DH037

Austin, TX knows BBQ and food trucks like San Diego knows fish tacos and surfing.

Located deep in the heart of Texas, Evan LeRoy and his team at LeRoy and Lewis BBQ bring together two of Austin’s culinary calling cards with unparalleled New School creativity.

Co-owning and operating LeRoy and Lewis BBQ by Cosmic Coffee’s open, eclectic and awesome beer garden, the pitmaster and chef is offering a premium blend of innovation and heritage on Austin’s favorite food genre through his own lens.

From the Jowl Bacon BLT to the Pork Hash and Rice, Evan LeRoy and his team are breaking boundaries on what’s considered barbecue by maximizing every ounce of meat they locally source.

“Quality above everything comes first,” Evan LeRoy said to Shawn Walchef on the Digital Hospitality podcast. “We're still a food truck. We're still growing. I'm still trying to find the right brick and mortar space.”

Currently killing it at Cosmic Coffee, where a wide array of world class food trucks transforms the beer garden into the most eclectic of outdoor settings, aspirations of a brick and mortar restaurant are still in the works.

Like all of us, Evan and his team have seen their world rocked by the current pandemic. Like the best of us, Evan is using this time to adapt and grow.

“In the wake of all this kind of COVID craziness, we're trying to increase our online presence,” says Evan LeRoy.

“I rebuilt our website, I started a podcast and we started this video series where we're releasing instructional barbecue videos on Patreon. I’m trying to get our name out there, trying to use the marketing tools and just get better at telling our own story.”

Standing Out Online and Off:

It's important to stand out when operating a business online and off.

“In the barbecue space right now, you have to make sure that you have a point of view,” says Evan LeRoy. “Especially in Texas or in Austin. What is the point of having just another barbecue restaurant? Why would you just open up another brisket, ribs and potato salad joint?” 

To Evan, differentiating LeRoy and Lewis from the rich, classic and contemporary BBQ scene in the city he calls home was essential.

“You have to have a unique point of view,” as Evan puts it. “Everything we do is informed by sourcing. We source all of our meat locally and that's the most important thing to me. Everything starts here by sourcing, locally, responsibly, sustainably.”

While sourcing locally and sustainably may prove most profound ethically, it’s proved just as delicious in practice. Making the most of all they source, cuts of meat that often go unused or wasted instead become the building blocks of some of LeRoy and Lewis’ most savory and creative dishes.

Check out the full mouth-watering New School BBQ menu, from 44 Farms Beef Cheeks to Smoked Brisket Burgers to Pulled Whole Hog at https://leroyandlewisbbq.com.

While the BBQ is New School, the great service from the passionate LeRoy and Lewis team remains comfortably Old School.

Telling Your Own Story:

For most restaurateurs, telling your own story is a dream. For Evan LeRoy, it’s a reality based on his background.

Attending Florida State University in the mid-2000s to purse his passion of film, Evan ended up cooking while at school and electing a creative major that’s still helping him today.

“I have a writing degree,” says Evan. “That's what I graduated from Florida State with. What I wanted to do initially was be a food writer. I went to New York and that was the idea.” 

For better or for worse, timing had other plans.

“It was 2008 and there just weren't any editorial jobs,” Evan looks back. “As it turned out I was pretty good at cooking.”

Pretty good has since turned into really good when it comes to cooking. It’s also improved his perspective as an author.

“I realized that at that time I didn't have anything to say with my writing,” reflects Evan. “But now, 10 years later, I have cultivated a food point of view.