Join us as we celebrate National Social Media Day and explore its impact on the barbecue community, from building connections to market opportunities. We also dive into current industry news, health tips for Pitmasters, and hot takes on grilling essentials. Bryan also opens up about a tough month of health issues, dehydration, lack of sleep, and the reality of pushing too hard in the barbecue business.

This week’s episode looks at barbecue in motion: Ribby’s temporarily closing in Fort Worth, Broad Street Barbecue making a smart early move during World Cup traffic in Atlanta, Rodney Scott’s name being protected from lazy “comeback” narratives, and the business lessons behind how events and brands treat the talent they rely on. We also get into Missfits’ to-go strategy, the debate over limiting special menu items, the new wave of barbecue shows, and why TV, social clips, cookbooks, and self-produced series are changing who gets to tell barbecue’s story.

A clean Five Guys bag might be one of the clearest signs of where the food economy is headed. In this week’s conversation, we get into spoiled meat, grocery packages coming in underweight, and why independent barbecue restaurants get punished for the same price increases customers accept from major corporations. We also break down how one YouTube feature created an overnight rush for Misfits Barbecue, why a viral moment does not instantly create more smoker capacity, and how preorders, shoulder clod, burgers, skewers, and smarter menu planning may help barbecue businesses survive the rising cost of brisket.

We started this episode arguing about bathroom etiquette and ended up exactly where we needed to be: who gets credit in food culture, how private equity “steps on” the products you love, why scams and AI deepfakes are making trust expensive, and why small businesses get attacked for price increases while corporations get praised for layoffs. Then I break down why I pulled out of the Rocky Mountain Barbecue Classic after deposit issues, why unqualified voices keep getting platformed in barbecue commentary, whether Ozempic and GLP-1s are impacting restaurant traffic, and why shrinkflation has people shopping with their own scales.

Al Frugoni is bringing the Open Fire Meetup and the Open Fire World Championship to Memphis in May, and it’s bigger than most people realize. This episode breaks down how Open Fire started as a small influencer cook in 2021 and turned into a movement that now unites pitmasters, competition legends, and fans around live flame. We talk why open fire feels different, how the competition sold out fast, the rigs and whole-animal cooks coming to Memphis, and why you should grab your ticket early if you want to see something Memphis has never seen before.

This episode features Tiffani Perry discussing the upcoming Memphis in May barbecue event, highlighting new competitions, activities, and tips for attendees. It offers a comprehensive preview of the event's highlights, including the OpenFire World Championship, youth contests, international participation, and exclusive experiences.

We break down the full experience: over 200 teams coming into Memphis May 13–16, the VIP “red carpet” option, Kingsford Tour of Champions ticket rules, sauce wrestling, the Junior World Championship contest, Ireland as the honored country, and a multi-day scavenger hunt with prizes like grills, high-end gear, and more.

In this episode of This Week in Barbecue, Rasheed Philips and the crew break down the week in barbecue culture, food media, and the business side of what we all eat. We start with a wild Atlanta story, then get into cookbook season and the real question: do you actually have to cook to put your name on a cookbook?

From there, we unpack the changing economics of food, including “deal” meals that explode in price once delivery fees and marketplace fees hit, plus where services like DoorDash and Goldbelly fit into the conversation. We also talk Food Network’s latest barbecue news, brand optics, Traeger’s new Westwood series and “set it and forget it” tech, and the headline nobody saw coming: a three-year barbecue university program in China.

Hill City Chop House earned real recognition in Texas barbecue, but Dustin Martin made a decision most people fear: he closed the brick-and-mortar and went back to the trailer, catering, and private events. In this episode, we talk about why the economics of barbecue can make four walls feel like a trap, how a house fire pushed him into the restaurant lane in the first place, what the Texas Monthly list does and doesn’t change, and why success sometimes looks like sitting on the porch with your kids instead of chasing a dining room you can’t forecast.

"My advice: just do it. Make the jump." - Dustin Martin

This week’s episode runs through everything from National Tater Day facts to real restaurant industry news, including Sysco acquiring Restaurant Depot and why that should matter to every small operator. Then the episode turns into an Atlanta barbecue conversation about community, decorum, and what happens when a new player shows up throwing shade at the pioneers who built the brisket market in the first place.

Join us as Andy Eldridge from the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate discusses the upcoming Syndicate Smoke Down 2026, a celebration of barbecue, music, and Texas heritage that supports youth in agriculture through scholarships and community programs.

If you care about barbecue culture, food community, and events built around purpose, subscribe and watch the full episode. Drop a comment with your festival strategy and whether you’re team Barbecue Time, competition walk-through, or both.