Meet The Pitmaster

My name is Chris Carby, and I have been in foodservice for most of my adult life. Beginning in 1982, I was the general manager of The Texas Tumbleweed. At the time, it was the largest steakhouse in Austin at 15,000 square feet. Jack Ray was the owner of this restaurant chain with 21 stores. In 1984, I was named Manager of the Year. In 1988, I began working for Sysco Food Services as a sales rep. I called on all types of foodservice establishments, including hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, bars and restaurants. My job was to sell food and equipment to the operators. I also helped them with menu and operational planning. In 1991, I achieved Torchbearer status. This award is given to the top 2% of the sales force in the Sysco Corporation.

In December 1994, my journey with Branch BBQ began. With the help and support of my wife Catherine, our first catering was the grand opening of Ropers Night Club. We catered 700 people that night. We haven’t looked back since. We have catered schools and universities, weddings and funerals, birthday parties, business meetings, and even a wild bunch or two. We have traveled all over central Texas bringing BBQ to our customers. We have been talked about on the radio and written about by John Kelso in the Austin American Statesman. The most recent write-up was by Keith Newton. It can be seen at http://dining512.com/branchbbq.

In 2007, an old friend came by and asked if we could help him start a restaurant. It sounded like an interesting proposition and our next adventure began. In November of 2007, Catherine and I traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica. We brought the first and only real TEXAS BBQ to that country. It is currently being served at Mac's American Bar & Grill, www.macsamericanbar.com. Investors from the U.S. and Costa Rica came together to bring Texas BBQ to Costa Rica. The locals are slowly coming around to our way of eating. Catering is also a part of the business. To date, we have catered offices, music festivals, and golf tournaments there.

In my spare time, which there isn’t much of, I enjoy fishing with my friends on the beautiful lakes of central Texas. I am also the stadium announcer at Connally High School and other local schools for the football games and track meets.

Now that you know a little about me, come by my restaurant and eat with me, or call and let us cater your next party.