18 April 6–12, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents 10250 Shady Trail • 214.358.5511 • babydolls.com Come watch all the football action with us! THE LEGEND LIVES ON® THE LEGEND LIVES ON® check out our new kitchen daily buffet Mon-fri 11aM-2PM stadiuM buffet Monday-friday 4PM-10PM Sat 11aM-10pM • Sun 12pM-10pM tleack, and Todd [David] is a good buddy of mine. It’s really cool what’s going on. It’s not just local, it’s national recognition. It’s a beau- tiful thing. Our three-year plan, we just want to be the best we can be at these two locations. Maybe in three years, maybe we look at something, but we’re not there today. Could we do more? For a year, sure. But you’ve gotta be protective of that. Being conscious of your brand and everything that you and Tim have built leads into the ques- tion I’ve got to ask. Is there any news on the lawsuit front with your family and their new restaurant in Southlake? We’ll probably be in front of a judge in the next week or two. We just talked to our lawyers. But this isn’t easy. This has been going on for a couple of years. You know how this goes, people will always review you and expect it to be good, and having more restaurants, is that sustainable? And for me and Tim that’s what we had a prob- lem with. And it’s doubly tough because it is your family. Me and Dad, we text often. I talk to my mom, maybe not daily but once a week. Me and Wes [Trey’s youngest brother] really aren’t talking right now. Going off the law- suit, it’s just icky. It’s intimate. It’s family. If you had a business partner, you could just cut ties. But you can’t cut ties on your fam- ily. It’s just an ugly thing, and the way the public perceives it, it’s the last thing we wanted. We just filed the suit in January, but this is going on for three years. Now [Wes] is going to call it Roy Hutchins Bar- becue, but there’s a lot of moving parts that have brought us to this point. We can’t come together. It’s been trying times regardless, especially with food and labor costs where they are. How are you guys handling that? Our beef and food market is getting under control. But labor? It’s crazy. We’ve got peo- ple here making really good money, but a lot of that is the tips coming through because our sales are so high. There are people here that have been with us for 15 or 20 years. We give them a ton of credit. There’s no way we are where we are without them. When I talk about the Hutchins family, those people are the family. You guys end up at a lot of festivals. Are those a way for you to try something a little different, or get new customers, network with others or what? We do a lot. I wish we could do more. I love this business. I’ll be honest, I get bored eas- ily. But I love customers, seeing smiles on their faces. It’s really cool to tap into craft barbecue, and how we all support each other. But seeing customers come up, they’re looking for that one bite. You’re only as good as your last meal. I like talking num- bers, with my banker. What makes me happy is seeing someone grabbing that burnt end, eating that Texas Twinkie, that’s my true passion. Hutchins BBQ, 9225 Preston Road, Frisco and 1301 N. Tennessee St., McKinney. Daily, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. City of Ate from p16
