A beloved family-owned barbecue joint in the mid-cities is undergoing a transformation. After nearly a decade, the restaurant formerly known as Berry Best Barbecue in North Richland Hills has rebranded as Lil JJ's Smokehouse and is opening in a prime location in the bustling Presidio Towne Crossing shopping center in north Fort Worth.
Lil JJ's Smokehouse will occupy the former Dickey's Barbecue Pit space at 9321 N. Freeway, which closed last summer.
Lil JJ's is from barbecue veterans and married couple John and Brandi Berry, who for nine years ran Berry Best Barbecue in three different locations in the mid-cities. The couple had been wanting to move to Fort Worth, which is becoming more and more known as a barbecue town. So when their lease was up at their most recent location at 7509 Blvd. 26 in North Richland Hills, they took the opportunity to regroup and closed Berry Best Barbecue on January 18.
“I’ve always wanted to be in this area,” John says. “It’s closer to where we live and it’s in a prime location. This part of Fort Worth, it’s blowing up like crazy.”
He's hoping to open the new spot in March to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of his 20-year-old son J.J., for whom the restaurant is named. As a tribute, his son’s image is featured on the restaurant logo and pictures of JJ will be displayed in the restaurant.
JJ had been by his father’s side ever since John launched his barbecue business.
“When I first started out, just selling out of our house, he was my first employee,” John says. “He made a sign advertising our food and stood on the corner twirling it.”
His son grew up working with his parents and even developed some of the restaurant’s signature dishes, such as a sandwich made from a combination of chopped meat and sausage.
LIl JJFacebook
“I remember he was standing next to me one day when I was making a sausage sandwich and a chopped sandwich and he he said, `Dad, why don’t you put those two together? You know it’d be good,’” John says. “And that’s how the Lil JJ sandwich was born. It’s one of our most popular sandwiches.”
The menu at J.J.’s will be similar to Berry Best’s, with brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken, and bologna, all smoked over pecan. John says he’ll transition from an outdoor offset smoker to an indoor rotisserie smoker.
Meats will be sold by the pound, in sandwiches or in loaded baked potatoes, one of the Berry Best’s signature items.
All of his meats share a common trait: a slightly spicy seven-blend seasoning that the Oak Cliff native says took years to perfect. John also makes his own barbecue sauce.
The restaurant will feature scratch-made sides, including smoked mac & cheese and smoked collard greens. His most popular side, baked beans, which many people order as their meal, will also be on the new menu, along with freshly made desserts including banana pudding, peach cobbler, and various cakes, all made by Brandi.
They’ll also slowly introduce new menu items, including Boom Boom Candy, which John describes as a bite-size Texas Twinkie, with bacon, pepper jack cheese, and a jalapeno wrapped around a chunk of brisket, then smoked.
“It’s like brisket candy,” John says.
John and Brandi have been a part of the North Texas barbecue restaurant community for nearly a decade. They started out with a tiny, to-go-only space in Watauga, then briefly ventured into North East Mall in Hurst, before they closed both locations to focus on a 2,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar in North Richland Hills, which they opened five years ago.
All along, the couple’s son JJ was there, helping the couple cook and run the kitchen.
“This is for him,” John says. “I want him to be remembered and this is the best way I know how to do that.”