Famous Texas BBQ joint Salt Lick to open massive DFW location
Driftwood, Texas isn’t known for much beyond a tranquil setting, a few wineries — oh, and a famous barbecue joint called The Salt Lick.
Having tested the waters at a storefront in DFW International Airport, The Salt Lick announced today that they’ve purchased a 10-acre parcel of wooded land north of Grapevine Mills that resembles their acreage in Driftwood for a 10,000 square foot barbecue restaurant. DFW.com first reported the news.
The site is near a planned $330 million resort and water park and is expected to open next year.
Paul W. McCallum, executive director of the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau, called Salt Lick “a massive opportunity for Grapevine.” He said the restaurant’s owners plan to preserve 200-year-old oak trees on the site so that “when they are done, it will look like it has been there 50 years.”
In a statement, Salt Lick’s owner Scott Roberts said, “We have searched the Metroplex the last 10 years for a site where the look and feel of the place would remind us of the Hill Country and allow us to re-create the backyard BBQ party we have in Driftwood. We have finally found a Hill Country home in Grapevine.”
I’ve eaten at the original The Salt Lick. I’ve eaten at the airport location. Both times, I left disappointed in the quality of the barbecue, but the Driftwood setting sure is nice. That brisket in the photo above (from The Salt Lick’s Facebook page) sure looks dry to me, plus it’s just the lean flat, not the entire packer brisket. And that smoked meat barbecue pit shown in the photo? That’s a show pit– the meat isn’t actually cooked for the restaurant on that pit; it’s cooked on giant commercial barbecue smokers behind the restaurant.