After long delay, popular Vegas barbecue spot opens another location
Big B’s Texas BBQ is finally about to go Bigger.
In May 2024, the restaurant shut down the smoker at its South Fort Apache Road location in preparation for a move to West Sahara Avenue near South Cimarron Road, about 4 miles away, while the original restaurant in Henderson remained open.
Why the move? Significantly more space (about 5,500 square feet in all), an open floor plan, a bar and a big parking lot. A September 2024 debut was planned.
And then came construction and permitting delays — familiar restaurant drama. But final inspections have been passed, and Big B’s is opening on July 23 at 8125 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 300, with a grand opening celebration planned in August.
“We want to thank all of our amazing customers for sticking with us and being so patient while we got this location ready,” said Natalia Badzjo, who owns Big B’s with her husband, Brian Buechner. “It definitely took longer than expected, but we’re here now, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
On the menu
The new Big B’s sports a neo-rustic look: corrugated tin wainscoting, knotted fence-board paneling, an orange neon outline of a longhorn skull, a fencing partition hung with license plates in the dining room, communal wooden picnic tables, and a sign with a galloping pig, the sign urging “Put Some South in Your Mouth,” also in orange neon.
The menu runs along the same lines as the Big B’s in Henderson. Brisket and tri-tip are served by the half-pound and pound, as are beef and baby back pork ribs, pulled pork and smoked turkey. Chicken comes in two, four or six pieces; hot links are sold by the link.
Also on the menu: salads, po-boys and other sandwiches, a dozen sides (including fried okra, French fries and barbecue beans), and combination plates built from choice of meat (or a brisket burger) and two sides.
Having a bar is new to Big B’s, so the bar bites are new, too: wings, sliders, brisket or pulled pork tacos, and more.
Brisket skills
The first Big B’s launched in 2016 on Saint Rose Parkway in Henderson, where it’s still open. The restaurant became known for purchasing mesquite wood in Buechner’s native south Texas to produce the proper smoke and flavor for its brisket (the standard for Texas barbecue) and other meats.
In October 2016, Heidi Knapp Rinella, the former restaurant critic for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, praised the restaurant for its skillful handling of a finicky cut.
“I see brisket as the acid test of a barbecue restaurant, especially one that claims roots in Texas, where the cut is beloved. Big B’s doesn’t fool around with its brisket. … No chopping here; this meat was served in thick slices, the fat running through them like butter.
“And it was not only extremely tasty, with big, beefy flavor and enough smoke to show they’re serious, but was incredibly tender, especially considering the thickness of the slices.”
In 2019, Big B’s opened what was then its second shop, on South Fort Apache Road. The restaurant would remain there for five years before closing so the move to West Sahara Avenue could begin. Visit bigbztexasbbq.com or follow @bigbzbbq.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.
