After more than three decades of serving award-winning barbecue to the Texas Hill Country community, Buzzie’s BBQ in Kerrville closed its brick-and-mortar location on Sunday, August 3, 2025. The beloved restaurant, located at the corner of Lemos and Schreiner streets, had been a fixture in the area since its original opening in Comfort in 1993 before moving to Kerrville in 1998.
Harold “Buzzie” Hughes and his wife Brenda made the decision to sell their iconic property to another local restaurateur who operates two other establishments in the region. The couple had listed the building for sale two years prior and finalized the sale in early July 2025. This closure marks the end of an era for a restaurant that earned recognition as having some of the best brisket in Texas, tying for first place in Texas Monthly’s statewide competition in 2010.
The decision to close was not taken lightly by the Hughes family, who raised four children in Kerrville and now have fourteen grandchildren living in the area. Brenda Hughes, who also serves as a Kerrville city councilwoman, explained that her husband had spent three decades working eighteen-hour days on his feet, perfecting the smoked meats that brought customers from across the state. The physical demands of running the restaurant, combined with their desire to spend more time with family, influenced their choice to scale back operations.
Despite closing the physical restaurant, Buzzie’s BBQ is not disappearing entirely from the Kerrville food scene. The Hughes family plans to continue their catering business and will operate from their food trailer, making appearances at special events throughout the community. They’ve committed to participating in major local celebrations like the Kerrville Fourth on the River and plan to set up at Kerr County Market Days and Swap Meet on the first Saturday of each month beginning in September 2025.
The restaurant’s legacy includes an impressive collection of accolades beyond the Texas Monthly honor. Buzzie earned the title of BBQ Pitmasters Texas Champion and was featured on the Travel Channel for his exceptional barbecue skills. The restaurant secured the “Best BBQ in Kerrville” award for twenty-eight consecutive years according to local readers’ choice polls. Buzzie himself developed his passion for cooking at a young age, starting with simple hot dogs on a Hibachi by the Guadalupe River when he was just ten or eleven years old.
The journey of Buzzie’s BBQ was not without challenges. In June 2007, a devastating fire destroyed their Kerrville location, but the Hughes family demonstrated remarkable resilience by rebuilding and reopening just five months later. The rebuilt facility became a community gathering place, hosting political events and serving as a meeting spot for local residents. The restaurant initially began in 1993 when Brenda finally convinced Buzzie to turn his popular backyard barbecues into a business after repeatedly seeing two hundred people show up whenever he cooked.
The original Comfort location operated from an old grocery and feed store that Buzzie renovated into a welcoming barbecue establishment. After the fire closed the Comfort location in 2007, the family focused entirely on their Kerrville restaurant, which became known for its oak-smoked meats, homemade barbecue sauce, and fresh sides including potato salad and coleslaw. The menu featured brisket, pork ribs, sausage, chicken, and turkey, all prepared using secret spice blends that Buzzie perfected over decades.
With the closure of the permanent location, Buzzie mentioned plans to relax more and enjoy fishing, a pastime he had little opportunity to pursue during his years of intensive restaurant work. The new business model allows the couple more flexibility while still maintaining their connection to the community they’ve served for so long. Regular customers can stay updated on where the food trailer will appear by following their social media channels and watching for announcements about upcoming events.
The property sale represents a transition rather than an ending for Buzzie’s BBQ. While the familiar building will no longer serve daily lunch crowds from Tuesday through Saturday as it once did, the tradition of Buzzie’s authentic Texas barbecue continues through their mobile operation. Fans of their award-winning brisket, perfectly smoked ribs, and homemade sides can still experience the flavors that made Buzzie’s a destination for barbecue lovers throughout central Texas.