Lake Houston area residents may have noticed more smoke from local pitmasters on their commutes over the last few months.

Several barbecue joints, recently opened or about to, are blooming all over the Lake Houston area, and each has its own trick to attract bellies clamoring for brisket or dreamers of sausage links.

Take Fire Craft BBQ, which slated to open in 2019. The restauant is settled next to Nico’s Bar & Grill on Loop 494. The owner, David Welch, said the place will be “a contemporary farmhouse-style restaurant” serving barbecue and small-plate items.

Or consider Gilbert & Co. at 6110 FM 1960 Ste. B. in Atascocita, which had its grand opening Oct. 6. Other than the barbecue staples like ribs and brisket, the restaurant will feature weekly “Soul Food Sundays,” where oxtails, greens and banana pudding extend the menu.

Two more barbecue restaurants also opened in Atascocita and New Caney this month.

The local eateries are a boon for the Lake Houston area, said Mark Mitchell, President of the Lake Houston Economic Development Partnership.

“I think there’s a saturation of the restaurant chains, and restaurant goers are looking for unique and new-quality restaurants,” Mitchell said. “That variety and that quality are great for the area as far as giving people more options to get unique meals as opposed to the standardized, national meal where it’s just a platter, the meat-and-two-sides type of thing.”

Gilbert & Co. co-owner Shawn Gilbert said barbecue is in their genes.

“With all of us being Burnses and Gilberts — we’re families,” said Andre Burns, the restaurant’s pitmaster and youngest son of Mr. Burns of Burns BBQ in Acres Homes. “We decided to get together and make a happy place way out here where people can enjoy some good barbecue and don’t have to drive so far. It’s in our blood, it’s in our clothes, it’s in our genes—”

“Our new cologne,” Gilbert interjected. He and Burns then let out a hearty laugh.

Prior to the public debut of Gilbert & Co., the familial staff handed out samples to motorists waiting for the green light at the nearby intersection. Be on the lookout for a Gilbert & Co. food truck in the near future, Gilbert said.

“FM 1960 is one of the busiest streets in the nation,” said Burns, explaining the decision to settle Gilbert & Co. in the Lake Houston area. “You got three, four different cities coming through FM 1960. You [also] got Kingwood and Humble.”

Similar to Gilbert & Co., pitmaster Raul Jacobo Jr. of Cobo’s, located at 6030 FM 1960, followed his barbecue calling from others in the household. He said his mom, Blanca Jacobo, has been one of the key sources of support since his first brush with this cooking style at 12 years old and after “a lot” of burnt chickens.

“The way I serve a plate: I feel like my mom is behind me saying ‘No, you better give them more,’” said Jacobo Jr., who co-owns Cobo’s with his wife Monica. “I feel connected to all of our customers.”

The family’s matriarch is also the source of many dishes, he revealed, a feature that allows Cobo’s menu to exhibit a blend of standard barbecue and his Mexican heritage. Consider this winter special he thought of: Mom’s pozole, but instead of boiled pork it will be smoked pork shoulder.

For other possible off-menu selections, follow Cobo’s Facebook, he said.

Although he’s from Aldine, Jacobo Jr. said he moved to Atascocita 15 years ago after being drawn to the area’s beauty and the community’s love for his cooking. The latter was intense enough for him to say no to prospect investors who entertained the idea of opening a Cobo’s in The Heights and another on Washington Avenue.

“We like our area. And we stick to our area,” he said. “We want to stick to one place and serve it well.”

The place, a minute’s walk from Gilbert & Co., held its grand opening Oct. 27.

Pitmaster Allen Rhoden of The Rusty Buckle BBQ Company, at 22664 Community Drive in New Caney, welcomed its first patrons Oct. 20. Rhoden said he refuses to turn his brand into a chain.

“To be successful in this business you have to be hands-on,” Rhoden said. “And there’s always gonna be good people here that want to eat good food.”

He also pointed out that he opened the Rusty Buckle was due to a lack of local barbecue options in the area since the early ‘80s. That’s the past now, and proof takes the form of a place its owner described as “where rustic ambience meets cutting-edge cooking.”

Rhoden serves up specials like the redneck sushi — breakfast sausage, shrimp and cream cheese wrapped in bacon, then smoked a bit, afterward painted with pepper jelly and glazed — and “Hollapeño Lemonade” — the popular beverage with a jalapeño-cucumber twist.

“The main thing was to make sure that the business was one that’s small enough still where he would enjoy cooking,” said LaShawna Roden, Allen’s wife and a Porter High School art teacher of eight years. “We want to make sure that this is where families come, and it becomes more tradition and you build into that family atmosphere so that it’s generational.”

She’s also the place’s creative director, the mastermind behind a vibe Allen described as “off-the-wall.” Utilized as decorations: belt buckles, license plates, disco ball, ball-and-chain, Johnny Cash records, discolored buckets and a John Deere tractor.

Mitchell also remarked that craft foods businesses — the kind that characterizes Fire Craft BBQ, Gilbert & Co., Cobo’s and The Rusty Buckle BBQ Company — is a beacon for new jobs and opportunities to build specialized skills.

nguyen.le@chron.com