Franklin Barbecue opened in Austin, Texas, in 2009. Aaron Franklin launched the restaurant that year from a trailer, beginning the brisket-focused operation that would become one of America’s best-known barbecue destinations.
The restaurant’s early success came from Franklin’s careful approach to Central Texas barbecue, especially slow-smoked beef brisket. Franklin Barbecue later moved from its trailer into a brick-and-mortar location in 2011, two years after the business began. Its current home is on East 11th Street in Austin.
National attention helped turn the restaurant into a barbecue landmark. It appeared on Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in 2012, and President Barack Obama visited in 2014, paying for the meals of customers waiting behind him. The restaurant was also featured in Jon Favreau’s 2014 film Chef.
Franklin Barbecue faced a major setback when a fire damaged its smokehouse in August 2017. It reopened in November of that year and completed smokehouse rebuilding by March 2018. The opening year is therefore 2009, while 2011 refers to the move into the permanent building.