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Photo by Jessica Nohealapa'ahi
April 12, 2024
Smokin' new BBQ restaurant opens in historic location
By Grace Toner
The Bandera Prophet
Get ready to eat! B-Daddy’s BBQ On Main opened last Friday, April 5, carving its way into Bandera three days before the total solar eclipse carved its own path across the Cowboy Capital.
Located in the historic district on Main Street, B-Daddy’s offers a variety of smoked meats, homemade sides, and specialty items including sweet tea glazed ribs, jalapeno cheddar cream corn, and a mac daddy sandwich.
Native Texan BR Anderson first started his restaurant career after he felt burned out in the corporate world. The barbeque craze in Texas was just getting started, Anderson said, so during his off hours from his 9-to-5, he catered an event for around 150 people, feeding hungry guests from all over Texas. They told him he was in the wrong business.
“I left the recruiting world and bought a food truck,” Anderson said.
That food truck gradually evolved into a brick-and-mortar in Helotes in 2015, shortly before Anderson met his wife, Davina. They married in 2018, moved to Bandera, and have been here ever since.
To those familiar with the area, this new restaurant is not opening at just any ‘ol location. Since the 1920s, barbecue has been sold out of that corner spot on Main. Busbee’s Bar-B-Que opened in Bandera in 1974, named after owner Don Busbee.
Emphasizing he wanted to “pay homage to the history” of the location, Anderson said he and Davina discovered numerous surprises while renovating the building, including beer cans and porch screens enclosed in the walls. They said the most surprising thing they uncovered was a painting of an armadillo in a barbeque hut on the side of the building; they also found and met the original painter.
Antiques stored within the building were either donated to the Frontier Times Museum, or returned to local Bandera families.
After closing on the property in late February, the Andersons set the ambitious goal of opening in late March. A labor of love, they have not been on their own throughout the process. Davina said the process has involved the “whole community,” with friends and neighbors volunteering to help on some 12- to 15-hour days.
“The community, as a whole, has had open arms,” Anderson said.
B-Daddy’s BBQ On Main, at 339 Main Street, is open Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. They offer the same menu as the Helotes location, including food cooked fresh daily, and homemade sides, desserts and pies.
“You won’t leave hungry,” Davina said.
Located in the historic district on Main Street, B-Daddy’s offers a variety of smoked meats, homemade sides, and specialty items including sweet tea glazed ribs, jalapeno cheddar cream corn, and a mac daddy sandwich.
Native Texan BR Anderson first started his restaurant career after he felt burned out in the corporate world. The barbeque craze in Texas was just getting started, Anderson said, so during his off hours from his 9-to-5, he catered an event for around 150 people, feeding hungry guests from all over Texas. They told him he was in the wrong business.
“I left the recruiting world and bought a food truck,” Anderson said.
That food truck gradually evolved into a brick-and-mortar in Helotes in 2015, shortly before Anderson met his wife, Davina. They married in 2018, moved to Bandera, and have been here ever since.
To those familiar with the area, this new restaurant is not opening at just any ‘ol location. Since the 1920s, barbecue has been sold out of that corner spot on Main. Busbee’s Bar-B-Que opened in Bandera in 1974, named after owner Don Busbee.
Emphasizing he wanted to “pay homage to the history” of the location, Anderson said he and Davina discovered numerous surprises while renovating the building, including beer cans and porch screens enclosed in the walls. They said the most surprising thing they uncovered was a painting of an armadillo in a barbeque hut on the side of the building; they also found and met the original painter.
Antiques stored within the building were either donated to the Frontier Times Museum, or returned to local Bandera families.
After closing on the property in late February, the Andersons set the ambitious goal of opening in late March. A labor of love, they have not been on their own throughout the process. Davina said the process has involved the “whole community,” with friends and neighbors volunteering to help on some 12- to 15-hour days.
“The community, as a whole, has had open arms,” Anderson said.
B-Daddy’s BBQ On Main, at 339 Main Street, is open Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. They offer the same menu as the Helotes location, including food cooked fresh daily, and homemade sides, desserts and pies.
“You won’t leave hungry,” Davina said.