Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant chain based in Llano, Texas. Cooper's is best known for its two-inch-thick pork chop known as the "Big Chop", and for being President George W. Bush's favorite barbecue restaurant.

Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
A Cooper's location in Llano, Texas
Restaurant information
Established	1962; 63 years ago (1962)
Food type	Texas barbecue
City	Llano
State	Texas
Country	United States
Website	CoopersBBQ.com

History

Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que is one of several restaurants created by the Cooper family since the 1950s. George T. Cooper opened "Cooper's Pit Bar-B-Q" in Mason, Texas in 1953.^[a] George's son, Tommy Cooper, opened his own barbecue restaurant in Llano in 1962, naming his "Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que". Tommy Cooper's restaurant went on to become the most famous of the various Cooper family restaurants.^[1] Tommy Cooper died in 1979; his restaurant was operated for a few years by Texas barbecue chef Kenneth Laird,^[1] and then the Llano restaurant was acquired by current owner Terry Wootan in 1992.^[2] In 2005, Tommy's son, Barry, returned to the business & together with Wootan, expanded Cooper's business to open five more locations to date. Today, Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que operates in six cities across the state of Texas. (Llano, New Braunfels, Fort Worth, Austin, College Station & Katy)

Cooper's serves brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken and cabrito, but is most well known for its two-inch-thick pork chop, sold as "the Big Chop".^[2] The restaurant smokes its meats in large rectangular pits, using fast-burning mesquite wood to provide a more subtle smoky flavor than slow-smoked barbecue.^[2][3] Cooper's barbecue sauce, served on the side,^[4] is a pit-smoked concoction that includes ketchup, vinegar, black pepper, Louisiana hot sauce, lard and brisket drippings.^[3]

Locations

In 2008, Cooper's opened a second location in New Braunfels, Texas.^[5] In 2010, Cooper's opened its third location, a 26,000-square-foot venue in the Fort Worth Stockyards next to country nightclub Billy Bob's Texas.^[6] Cooper's fourth location, in downtown Austin, Texas, opened in January 2016.^[7] Cooper's fifth location opened in College Station, Texas, in October 2019 & the sixth location open in Katy, Texas, in November, 2019.

Features and awards

Cooper's has received positive reviews in The New York Times^[3] and The Washington Post.^[2] In the early 2000s, President George W. Bush declared it his favorite barbecue restaurant,^[8][9] an honorific that continues to be used in coverage of the restaurant.^{[10][11][12][13]}

In 2011, Cooper's was one of five restaurants representing Central Texas in Patricia Schultz's 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die.^[13] In 2015, The Daily Meal ranked Cooper's #10 on its list of best barbecue ribs in the United States.^[14] In 2016, food critic and Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook author Robb Walsh named Cooper's #8 on his list of 10 favorite Texas barbecue spots.^[12] In 2017, USA Today declared Cooper's the winner of its Readers Choice award in the category "Best BBQ Brisket Sandwich in Texas".^[15][4]

See also

• List of barbecue restaurants

Notes

1. George T. Cooper's original restaurant in Mason, now operating as "Cooper's Original Pit Bar-B-Q", is separately owned and not affiliated with Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que. The Mason restaurant has been owned by Lindell and Pam Estes since 2014.^[16]