In a topsy-turvy Dallas restaurant scene that seems to entertain a new food trend every week, Big Al’s Smokehouse BBQ “has barely changed” in 50 years, said owner Lauran Weiner.

Her father, Al Plaskoff, founded the barbecue restaurant near Dallas Love Field Airport 50 years ago.

No one in the family knows the exact date, so Weiner picked Sept. 30, 2024, as the day to celebrate her late father’s shop that sold brisket before brisket was cool.

Big Al was “somewhat of a folk hero,” Weiner said. If he could be in the restaurant today, he’d be wearing a Hawaiian shirt, working the room. His wife, Harriet, would be sitting cross-legged on a stool at the cash register, cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

“Hi, darlin’,” she’d say.

Big Al and Harriet died in 2018 and 2022, respectively, and Weiner is dedicated to making the family business thrive.

The restaurant is doing better than ever, she said, but still, the 50th anniversary feels like it should be counted in days, not years. Over the course of its more than 18,000 days, Big Al’s has sold the same smoked meat as Inwood Road grew up around it.

It’s one of the oldest barbecue joints in Dallas, with its 50th birthday moving it onto The Dallas Morning News’ list of D-FW’s oldest restaurants.

Dickey’s Barbecue, Sonny Bryan’s and Marshall’s Bar-B-Que are some of the only barbecue joints in Dallas that are older than Big Al’s.

The restaurant will mark its 50 years by selling chopped beef and pulled pork sliders for 50 cents on Sept. 30, 2024.

All in the family

Big Al’s remains owned by the family, but Pedro Garcia might as well be family. He has worked at the restaurant for 45 of its 50 years, starting as a busboy when he was a teenager.

Garcia is the first person customers see when they walk down the line and up to the cutting board, where he slices meat.

“This is his house,” Weiner said.

Garcia has a knack for remembering customers’ orders, and he’s become part of the welcoming culture of this long-time, steady restaurant. If Big Al can’t be there, it feels good that Garcia is, Weiner said.

Weiner and general manager Jonathan McZeal haven’t made very many changes to the menu. They want to, but Big Al wouldn’t like it, and customers wouldn’t either. So sides like creamed corn and pinto beans remain.

The restaurant specializes in an over-stuffed baked potato with meat.

As the story goes, Big Al watched an evening news special about “loose meat” on a baked potato, and he knew his restaurant needed it. A loaded barbecue baked potato was rare in Dallas at the time, and it remains a favorite among regulars.

Weiner said being a female owner of a barbecue business in Texas can be tough.

But it’s her dad’s name on the restaurant. It’s Garcia slicing the meat. It’s McZeal leading the staff.

She knows her dad would be proud of what Big Al’s has become, and it isn’t that much different from how he left it.

Big Al “talks” to his daughter in ways big and small.

“I can still hear his voice,” Weiner said.

His legacy lives on when customers talk about the larger-than-life Big Al. They do it “all the time,” his daughter said.

Big Al’s Smokehouse BBQ is at 3317 Inwood Road, Dallas. It’s closed Sundays.

The restaurant will sell 50-cent sandwiches chopped beef and pulled pork sliders on Sept. 30, 2024, the chosen date for the 50th anniversary. Limit two per person.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X at @sblaskovich.