Beef prices are rising so rapidly that some of Texas’s most renowned barbecue joints have been forced to shut down or are facing imminent closure, according to warnings from owners.
Record Beef Prices Squeeze BBQ Businesses
The average retail price for beef, a staple ingredient in brisket at many BBQ restaurants, reached a record $9.64 per pound in April, marking a 13 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Department of Agriculture.
BBQ joint owners across the Lone Star State told The Washington Post they have been operating in “survival mode” for the past year as they struggle to stay afloat amid skyrocketing costs.
“This is as bad as it gets,” said Russell Roegels, who owns two BBQ restaurants in Houston. “Everybody’s at risk these days: You’re one bad week from closing.”
Multiple Factors Driving Price Hikes
Industry experts attribute the price surge to a combination of inflation, President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and pricing strategies by meatpackers—the middlemen who purchase cattle from ranchers, process the beef, and sell it to restaurants and grocery stores.
The smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years, exacerbated by drought and increased operating costs since the pandemic, is also contributing to the problem.
Shawn Jones of Kirby’s BBQ, famous for its oak-smoked brisket, announced the closure of his New Caney restaurant north of Houston at the end of 2025, partly due to “absolutely insane” beef prices.
“With brisket being our biggest seller here in Texas, that is really weighing on our profit margins,” Jones told his YouTube followers. “When brisket costs $36 a pound for the consumer, and then you add ribs, sausage, sides, and desserts, you can easily be spending $70 to $100 for barbecue. That’s just not something most of middle America can do as often as they would need to support most barbecue joints.”
Other recently closed establishments include Brett’s BBQ Shop, Sabar BBQ, and Wright on Taco & BBQ, according to The Post.
Survival Mode for Industry Leaders
Ernest Servantes, whose Burnt Bean Co. was voted Texas Monthly’s No. 1 barbecue joint, said the relief that followed previous price hikes is now absent.
“It’s going to get scary here,” Servantes told The Post. “We’ve been in survival mode for the past year.”
Servantes has been forced to raise brisket prices by $1 to $38 per pound and is even considering limiting the specialty to one day a week. “Just because we’re making a lot of brisket doesn’t mean we’re making a lot of money. It’s kind of a write-off,” he said.
Meatpackers Under Scrutiny
Servantes and others in the industry have blamed meatpackers for “manipulating prices,” noting that four companies control over 85 percent of the country’s beef processing market.
“The profits from high beef prices aren’t going to the people who raise America’s cattle — they’re being siphoned off by a handful of multinational meatpacking corporations,” economist Andrew Rechenberg of the Coalition for a Prosperous America wrote in an op-ed last year.
State and federal regulators have launched an investigation into the conduct of the largest meatpacking firms. “If major meatpackers manipulated the market to underpay ranchers while forcing families to pay higher prices at the grocery store, we will hold them accountable,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a May 15 news release.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is reportedly divided on how to address rising beef prices. The White House delayed plans to announce a temporary reduction in import tariffs on meat to continue discussions, Politico reported last week.
