Smithville may have just put itself on the Central Texas barbecue map in a big way. The small town east of Austin this weekend welcomes Micklethwait Market & Grocery. The barbecue restaurant and grocery in downtown Smithville (114 N. E. Second St.) is an extension of the Micklethwait Craft Meats trailer in East Austin, which has consistently landed in the Top Five of Austin barbecue purveyors since it opened in 2012.

Micklethwait Market & Grocery is a project from Craft Meats owner and former rock musician Tom Micklethwait and pit master Ren Garcia. The Smithville location will feature an expanded menu reminiscent of the original, with housemade sausages, brisket, ribs, pulled lamb shoulder and from-scratch sides and desserts that have helped distinguish Micklethwait as one of the best barbecue spots in Texas. All of the meats will be cooked in an enclosed pit room featuring two massive offset smokers and a coal-fired direct-heat brick pit.

The Market & Grocery, which features a shop selling fresh baked goods, grab-and-go snacks, beer and wine, assorted books and house goods and Texana items like prayer candles featuring the visage of Willie Nelson, will be open Thursday-Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until sold out. It opens to the public Saturday. The market and grocery operating hours will expand in the spring.

Built in the former Vasek Automotive building on the corner on N.E. Second and Olive streets, just off Main Street in downtown Smithville, Micklethwait Market & Grocery will feature two large indoor dining areas and a large patio. The building features a wall mural from notable Texas punk rocker and artist Tim Kerr that highlights notable Smithville residents such as American educator Bettye Caldwell and hip hop producer Robert Earl Davis Jr. aka DJ Screw, as well influential Texans such as “King of Barbecue” Walter Jetton and jazz musician Ornette Coleman.

For more information, visit craftmeatstexas.com.





