Best Local Barbecue

First Place:

ZZQ Texas Craft Barbeque

3201 W. Moore St.
528-5648
zzqrva.com

Second Place: Buz & Ned’s Real Barbecue (Hall of Fame Winner)
Third Place: Alamo BBQ
Honorable Mention: Q Barbeque

“At only 3 years old we are so grateful to be recognized by our customers that are readers of Style, Richmond Magazine and Virginia Living,” says ZZQ owner and pitmaster Chris Fultz. “We recently found out that we won best in all three publications and it is incredibly humbling.” This year alone, ZZQ has also appeared in Forbes, Travioso, Travel Pulse and Thrillist.

During the pandemic, owners Fultz and Alex Graf temporarily shuttered their dining room, offering to-go only. In June, they reopened their doors with lines snaking around the block that first week. There’s something about ordering your half-pound of brisket at the counter, followed by a careful selection of sides (always get the jalapeno mac) that cannot be replicated in a take-away box.

“We could not have survived the pandemic without such an amazing crew,” Fultz says. Going forward, he notes that the restaurant is more focused on “quality than ever before” so that it can “continue to give our customers an extraordinary experience and further differentiate us from the rest of the local and regional barbecue market.”

As for the future of ZZQ, Fultz says the owners recently signed a lease on a building “very close to the restaurant” that will enable them to grow their catering business and offer private dining facilities for everything from corporate events to wedding parties.

Now that’s a wedding we’d like to attend.

TRENDING

WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW — straight to your inbox

* indicates required
Our mailing lists: