Merritt Meat Company in Round Top, Texas, will permanently close at the end of August. Originally opened as Round Top Smokehouse, the restaurant was helmed by pitmaster Lee Ellis. Ellis died in 2023 of a heart attack at age 63, leaving the business without its founding pitmaster. Leonard Botello IV and Abbie Byrom-Botello took over two years ago and renamed the operation Merritt Meat Company to honor Ellis's middle name and his vision. Round Top measures under one square mile with fewer than 100 residents, yet the barbecue spot attracted visitors from around the world.
In small towns with a tight-knit community, the loss of a staple, sentimental restaurant is felt much more painfully than it perhaps would be in a giant city (although this closure of the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles was deeply upsetting for many). For the past seven years, Round Top, the smallest town in Texas, has been home to a very special barbecue place, Merritt Meat Company.
Originally opened as Round Top Smokehouse, the restaurant was helmed by Lee Ellis, a beloved pitmaster. Ellis tragically passed away in 2023 due to a heart attack when he was only 63 years old, leaving the small Round Top community saddened and shocked and the beloved BBQ restaurant without anyone to run it. Leonard Botello IV and Abbie Byrom-Botello stepped in and renamed the place Merritt Meat Company two years ago.
This Texas town measures just under one square mile and numbers less than 100 people. Despite the remote location, the place remains a destination with people willing to fly from the other side of the world to this small town just to eat at a particular barbecue place. On the Instagram post announcing the place's closure, one user commented, "We fly over from Italy just to eat here. Ugh!!!"
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