Richmond BBQ restaurant born from a hair salon kept growing thanks to its Texas smoke

“There’s a couple things you just know how to do when you’re from Texas. One is how to play football and the other is how to smoke good barbecue,” says Paul Morin, a 1997 Lone Star state transplant and owner of Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que in Richmond.

Opened in July 2014, Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que serves up everything from pork to brisket, chicken, ribs and sausage to go with homemade sides and desserts like mac n cheese, sweet corn cake, “Chuck Wagon’‘ beans (a spicy, ranch-style pinto bean), tater salad, cobblers, shaved ice and more.

All of the meats are smoked for 12-16 hours using a combination of hickory and post oak wood paired with pecan and fruit wood (when available), a signature component of authentic Texas barbecue, according to Morin.

“Texas barbecue is all about the smoke, not the sauce,” says Morin. “Unlike Kansas City, Memphis or Carolina barbecue, we serve our meats with sauce on the side. Also, the focus in Texas is brisket, ribs, sausage and chicken. Pork is pretty new. It never existed in barbecue joints in Texas when I was growing up, but people love it so much here that I included it on the menu and sell tons of it.”

Born in Belton, Texas and taught the ways of barbecue by his father Calixto Morin from an early age, Paul’s eats are as authentic as you can get outside of Texas. The smoker he prepares everything on was brought up to him from Texas by his father on a whim in 2001.

The smoker acts as a continuation of his father’s memory, who passed away in 2016 less than two years after Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que’s launch. Morin also has a picture of his father near the entrance to the restaurant alongside others of paternal grandparents John and Maria Morin and great-grandfather Calixto Morin to remind him of who helped him to get to where he is today.

“He’s not here now, but we’re here because of the guidance he gave me and for bringing that smoker up here and setting all of this into motion,” said Morin. “This whole business is here because of that small gesture from him.”

In 2013 Morin started fixing up his first brick and mortar spot, when his wife, Maranda, allowed him a corner of a building she was using for her hair salon to repurpose into a small kitchen and carryout area. The idea quickly caught on.

“People seemed to like what we were doing, so about six months after opening I asked my wife if I could get a little more space to put a few tables in,” said Morin. “She was gracious enough to allow that. Every few months after that I’d come to her again asking for more room for tables until her and one other lady only had two salon chairs at the end of the building.”

Maranda continues to make her presence known as many of Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que’s side dishes and desserts are made by her. Morin’s three children can also be seen regularly working the restaurant as he teaches them the ways of barbecue. His two youngest — Macaila, 17, and Cameron, 12 — help with day-to-day operations when not in school in addition to owning Alamo Ice, a walk-up window at the end of the building serving up shaved ice, shakes, ice coffee, ice cream and more.

His eldest son Ben, 24, also helps out, working the midnight shift that oversees late night meat smoking, a process that Morin and his family continue to adapt.

“We have ruined a lot of food along the way,” joked Paul Morin. “It’s never perfect and I don’t expect it to be. It’s nothing like cooking at home in the oven where it’s a much more controlled environment. Here I’ve got to deal with the rain, fluctuating temperatures, humidity and more, adjusting and learning as we go.”

As Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que continues to grow so do Morin’s ambitions, especially with an average online rating of 4.8 stars. He has plans to soon begin selling his sauces and rubs made in-house by the bottle.

He’s also building out a covered deck for more outdoor seating. At the same time, Morin is determined to also give back to the community that’s helped him so much. This includes sponsoring and hosting fundraising events for local youth sport teams to employing teenagers and teaching them work skills like counting change and engaging with strangers face-to-face.

“I grew up in a town where I walked into the corner store and the owner knew my name,” said Morin. “That’s the kind of connection that I want to have with the community here. I want my customers to feel like they’re at home the moment they step foot in here, so I’m always asking how they and their loved ones are doing and trying to get to know them as people rather than just another face stopping in for a meal.”

Morin continued, “Our mission is to have a positive impact on our community through Christ. The restaurant is our mission field and barbecue is the tool that gives us the opportunity to reach others. As long as we do that I’m confident that we’ll continue to grow and prosper.”

Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que

Where: 306 North Street, Richmond

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., closed Sunday-Monday

Online: StraightFromTexasBarBQue.com