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.

Newly emerged film video of former President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade driving down a freeway in Dallas, Texas, toward a hospital after he was fatally shot on Nov. 22, 1963, sold on Saturday for $137,500 at an auction.

The home film was offered by RR Auction in Boston, Massachusetts, The Associated Press reported. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, according to the auction house.

The auction house’s executive vice president, Bobby Livingston, said in a news release that the film offers “a gripping sense of urgency and heartbreak.”

The film has been held by the family of Dale Carpenter Sr., the man who recorded it, since the day of the assassination. Carpenter died in 1991 at the age of 77.

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In the footage, Carpenter just misses the limousine carrying the president and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy but records other vehicles in the motorcade driving down Lemmon Avenue toward downtown Dallas. The video then shows that the president has been shot, and captures the motorcade as it races down Interstate 35 towards Parkland Memorial Hospital, where the president was pronounced dead.

The shots were fired as the motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in front of the Texas School Book Depository, where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had positioned himself on the sixth floor.

The assassination itself was captured on film by Abraham Zapruder.

Home film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway to the hospital after he was fatally wounded on Nov. 22, 1963. (RR Auction)

Carpenter’s footage from I-35 lasts about 10 seconds and shows Secret Service Agent Clint Hill jumping onto the back of the limousine as the shots were fired, hovering in a standing position over the president and first lady.

According to Carpenter’s grandson, James Gates, it was known in his family that his grandfather had film from the day of the shooting, but it was not often discussed.

When the film, which had been stored along with other family films in a milk crate, was eventually passed on to him, Gates said he was unsure what his grandfather had captured.

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A box of home film footage of President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade speeding down a Dallas freeway to the hospital after he was fatally wounded on Nov. 22, 1963. (RR Auction)

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Gates was initially underwhelmed by the footage from Lemmon Avenue when he projected it onto his bedroom wall around 2010 until he observed the footage from I-35.

“That was shocking,” he said.

The auction house has released still photos from the portion of the film showing the motorcade speeding down I-35, but it is not making video of that part publicly available.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Dallas Mavericks will soon return to the hardwood, as will the rest of the NBA, as training camp starts on October 1st. Teams are submitting camp rosters and getting underway for a near season.

With the Mavericks revealing their training camp roster — which marks the beginning of a new era with Klay Thompson in town — a young forward made a jersey number change.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper, previously sporting No. 18, will now wear No. 8 heading into his second season in the NBA.

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Right now, there’s not much to know about Prosper. He’s a 22-year-old forward who holds plenty of potential in the league. At 6-foot-8, the Mavericks forward has the chance to emerge as a three-and-D player. The potential floor-spacer didn’t have an incredible rookie season in that regard, though. He converted on just 29 percent of his 3-pointers on the season.

His NBA statistics weren’t incredible in year one — which consisted of 40 games played and one start — but Prosper thrived in the G-League. While it doesn’t completely prove his potential, it does hold some merit. He averaged 18.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while converting on 43 percent of the 5.3 3-point attempts per game for the Texas Legends.

Heading into year two, Prosper’s services certainly won’t be a need, as he will be depth for the squad. The Mavericks bolstered their roster following an NBA Finals appearance. Should the 22-year-old forward have to play, though, he’ll do so and be a serviceable player alongside a core of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Thompson. He’ll knock down 3-pointers while playing stout defense, fitting right into the team’s system.

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Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA offseason. 

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