BBQ News
Innovative Fort Worth BBQ restaurant Sabar Barbecue is closing
An acclaimed and ground-breaking BBQ restaurant is closing: Sabar Barbecue, a food truck at 194 Bryan Ave., at the corner of Main and Vickery, is calling it quits after only two years, according to a post from owner Zain Shafi.
Shafi says that an opportunity arose that they could not refuse, without divulging what that opportunity was. Their last day will be December 20.
"Life moves fast. Just a few weeks ago we were planning another smoker, working toward a brick-and-mortar, and adding Fridays to our service days… and now we’re closing," the post says.
"An opportunity came up that we couldn’t pass on, and while this chapter is ending, we’re incredibly grateful for the journey," he says.
That journey began two years ago when Shafi opened Sabar in November 2023 with an innovative approach to the genre by combining classic BBQ with Pakistani cuisine. Shafi had solid credentials, since he had worked at Goldee's BBQ, crowned No. 1 barbecue joint in Texas in 2021 by Texas Monthly magazine.
His original idea was traditional Texas barbecue but Halal, using meat that's been processed in accordance with Islamic dietary laws. But as he got more into it, he gravitated towards the idea of incorporating foods he'd grown up with: offering a Pakistani twist on Texas barbecue.
That meant brisket with a rub that incorporated spices like bay leaf and coriander. And lamb ribs instead of pork, which Muslims do not eat.
Sabar went on to be nominated for Best BBQ in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, as well as making the list of Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Restaurants of 2025. The restaurant was also featured in a recently published BBQ book Texas BBQ: The Art of Low and Slow.
Shafi thanked his team and customers, saying, "thank you to everyone who supported us over the past two years—especially our regulars. It’s been an honor sharing our Pakistani-influenced Texas BBQ with Fort Worth. We hope y’all loved Sabar as much as we loved cooking for you."
