Back Country BBQ, one of the longest-standing barbecue joints in Northeast Dallas, will celebrate 50 years in business on July 1.
The barbecue joint was founded in 1975 by Frank Hart. Originally located near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Ferndale Road, Back Country moved to a new brick-and-mortar off Greenville Avenue in 1988, where it has remained ever since.
Owner Scott Collard doesn’t know the exact date of the joint’s founding, so he says the golden jubilee has been timed to coincide with the ninth anniversary of his taking ownership at Back Country.
“It’s kind of awesome,” Collard said. “I don’t know, it’s an awesome feeling. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple years, thinking, ‘It’s coming up, okay?’ And now it’s on top of me. I’m going, ‘holy cow.’”
In its fifty years of business, the barbecue joint has hosted numerous community events, including annual Lake Highlands High School Football previews.
The joint will offer 50-cent slider sandwiches, fries and drinks to all lunchtime dine-in customers on July 1 to mark the anniversary. Giveaways are expected. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, local musical duo The Redmans will perform for the anniversary celebration.
Perhaps most notably, longtime former pitmaster Earnest Griffith will be on-site to meet and greet customers. Griffith was one of the joint’s first employees and manned the Back Country BBQ smoker for almost the entirety of its existence until a prostate cancer diagnosis forced him to step away in 2021.
“My wife used to get mad at me because me and Frank [Hart] had to stay the night up in Back Country BBQ every Christmas,” Griffith told the Advocate back in 2020.
Sausage is one of the top sellers at Back Country, Collard said. The suppliers of that sausage, Rudolph’s Market and Sausage Factory, will also be at the event.
Brisket and pork ribs are also top-sellers at the joint, much as they have been for much of its history.
“They’ll see that the restaurant hasn’t really changed since the last time we moved here in ‘88,” Collard said. “I mean, hardly anything has changed.”
Collard said while Back Country is celebrating its history, he’s still got his eyes on the future.
“I hope we’re here another 50 years serving our community,” he said.
Back Country BBQ is located at 6940 Greenville Ave.
