BBQ Joint Burned and Boarded

Last Thursday, around two in the morning, 37 years of Austin barbeque tradition and The T-Man were lost when a fire engulfed Bert's BBQ on 610 West MLK Boulevard, just southwest of the UT campus. A malfunctioning breaker panel in the building's back room caused a two-alarm blaze that needed 40 firefighters and 20 trucks to control. After $300,000 of damage, the building still stands, but its fate is uncertain.

A popular eatery for downtown suits, UT students and Austin High truants, the inside was about as aesthetically pleasing as your grandpa's billiards room, with hundreds of pictures and polaroids, haphazardly stapled to the wall, of UT athletes, coaches, and political figures like Perry and Bush, not to mention the back wall devoted almost exclusively to hunting pictures--the one of a bloody deer carcass next to the potato salad made Bert's a unique experience. It had character only a down-home BBQ joint can pull off.

Rumor has it that before the fire they were already considering a move to a different location. The other Bert's on Far West Boulevard remains open and operating.