Hays County Barbecue & Catering

In less than six years Hays Co BBQ has gone from an often confusing, unknown and unappreciated San Marcos hole-in-the-wall, to a barbecue joint worthy of being named to Texas Monthly’s Prestigious Top 50 BBQ Joints in the Lone Star State. 

It’s a cold early morning at Hays Co BBQ. Michael Hernandez goes about his chore list, piling wood into the pits using embers still glowing from the previous night to ignite a flame. For a barbecue joint, the surroundings are exceptionally clean, a reflection of the owners’ intensity, some might say obsession, for “doing things the right way.”

He walks about his model car filled restaurant cleaning and preparing for another day of serving smoked meat loving customers, and the lunch rush is only getting busier.  As he sips on his morning cup of joe, he reflects on what the business, and his wife, mean to him. “When I had the opportunity to purchase this place, I cashed in all of my 401K and put in all the savings we had. I knew it was a good business model with a lot of potential. I had to eliminate all the ‘shoulda, woulda and coulda’s’ from the get go. If this was where we were going to make our mark, there would be no ‘What if’s?’ I needed Asenette to quit her job and give everything she had to help build this business.”

Determined to make a leap of faith, the vast majority of people were not cheering them on, rather cautioning them about making a huge mistake. “The majority of people did not support us. I even had a current San Marcos city councilman tell me I was crazy. ‘Don’t you know that 95% of restaurants fail?,’ he would say. People had a hard time catching the vision, but your business is what you make of it,” says Michael. “Failure was not an option.”

It’s certainly not easy to pit smoke a tasty brisket, even more difficult to do it day in and day out. It’s an art that is celebrated in our region, and Michael realized what he was up against the first time he tasted Lockhart barbecue. Once he found himself in the business, it presented an awesome challenge. He knew what was possible but he was going to have to find the way to first match it, then exceed it, and do it consistently.

“I had to learn everything about a pit, and I learned the hard way. We were up and running for several months and cooking decent meat when we received what at the time to us was a big catering order. We were so excited! I had all the meat on the pit, and nothing was cooking; hours went by and the meat was raw. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I piled on more wood, used fans to get the heat up, nothing was working and time was running out. I became frantic, the order was close to pick up time, and I had no cooked meat. I called up Woody and explained everything. What could I possibly be doing wrong?”  He said, “Ummm, It’s pretty simple, Michael, you start a fire and heat up the meat.”  Finally he asked me if I had cleared out the smoke stack. Smoke stack? What? After figuring out what he was saying, I hit the smoke stack, heard it clear out and watched the fire begin to roar. I had to send our first big catering order somewhere else. I was so embarrassed—it’s a lesson I look back on and laugh at now.”

Years passed, six to seven days a week of cooking brisket, along with various other meats, was beginning to show remarkable improvement. Michael obsessively and intently manned the pit, taking careful note of every variable that would affect the final outcome, working to get the most out of the meat without drying it out, or God forbid burning it. He also carried on the Central Texas tradition of making sausage in house (beef & pork), which today has many regulars proclaiming it the best they’ve ever had.

Two years into business, the customer base started to shift and grow. Michael needed more help, and his 15 year old son, Aaron, was next in line to learn the pits. His young and sometimes arrogant bravado was humbled when he would ignore the insights of his father and whole briskets were discarded, but he too began to come into his own, making customers rave.

Standards were high, and word was beginning to spread against some unfortunate odds. The long rocky history of the Woody’s BBQ name and the exit of Southwest Market, it’s prior name, left many potential customers confused and uninterested. Just about the time the battle of cooking consistency was winning over skeptical customer taste buds, the restaurant received a cease and desist letter demanding a name change. What was perceived as another set back at the time turned out to be a blessing. The business was delivering a product that could stand on its own, and it needed a new name that could do the same.

He grew up a dirt poor kid in Lamesa, Texas. Nothing was easy for Michael Hernandez- in the card game of life – he was dealt the hand of an underdog. A strong work ethic developed quickly when during adolescence he began to take note of what it meant to own something. A love for automobiles drew him to high school buddies with souped up muscle cars and other unattainable luxuries. The more he hung out, the more he understood how 17 year old kids could possess such fine automobiles. Their parents owned businesses and Michael began to equate that with success. “I had no interest in attending college because I couldn’t sit still in a classroom and I couldn’t afford it. I took a very close look at what was attainable for me to reach success without a college degree and went that route,”
explains Michael.

In 1988 Michael was working his first job ever at Long John Silver’s. During a frequent trip to the local grocery store to pick up lemons for the day, he became infatuated with a check-out girl – who wouldn’t pay much attention to him. After repeated trips and growing frustration, Michael asked the store manager for a sacking position and quit his job. Soon he was bagging groceries next to his future wife of 21 years, Asenette Hernandez. “It’s simple, if you know what you want in life, then you have to be willing to go get it. I’ll always believe that,” Michaels laughs.

Various employment opportunities, including restaurant management, sales and banking, led the couple from one Texas city to another, until a small vacation made them decide to call New Braunfels home. Life was good and both had worked hard to provide themselves with great paying jobs and benefits. It wasn’t enough for Michael, his goal was to own a restaurant, and he’d wait patiently for the right opportunity to come along.

Only months after opening, Michael and Asenette discovered their peers on the pages of Texas Monthly’s 2008 BBQ issue. On the cover was a beautifully rustic vintage style sign with big and bold yellow neon letters shouting “BBQ” and proclaiming the Top 50 joints in the state. The prized list recognized the top contenders in Texas BBQ, the best of the best. The mountain they wanted to climb was clear, making the list would exemplify barbecue excellence. They had five years before Texas Monthly released another Top 50 list.

Obsessed, Michael poured his soul into the craft, serving only what met his highest expectations. But Hays Co BBQ wasn’t located in the attention-loving foodie crazed capital of Austin, nor was the unknown joint detouring travelers headed to Lockhart or Luling. But the barbecue underdog was growing stronger.

First time visitors became regulars, and business was booming. Michael had done it. He had a product worth talking about. He knew it because he’d take road trips to eat at the Top BBQ joints in the state on his days off, stopping at up to five places in one day.

On one occasion a customer who frequented Hays Co BBQ called him out while he was ordering brisket at City Market in Luling. “Hey, hey, your competition is here,” he yelled loudly towards the pit crew as they cut Michael off a few slices of brisket, “He’s from Hays Co BBQ in San Marcos.”  A little embarrassed, Michael sat at a table, ate his food and quickly moved on. He had to know where his BBQ stacked up among the greats. The more places he visited, the more confidence he built.

Then came a conversation had over countless mornings. How does a barbecue joint make sure it’s not overlooked by Texas Monthly? It’s more important than one might realize. You see, Texas Monthly is deliberately positioning their brand right next to Texas BBQ, working diligently to become the undisputed authority on the subject, admittedly saying they are building a franchise around it. The magazine launched a new website (TMBBQ.com) complete with tour bus, created a barbecue finder smart phone app, and is hosting a yearly festival in Austin allowing serious smoked meats connoisseurs to taste travel the state’s best barbecue in one day. It’s a delightfully gut busting experience.

The answer was simple, Michael needed to feed them, as many of the Texas Monthly staff as he could. There was no way around it; his piece of mind rested on a bold measure.  Hays Co BBQ was going to cater lunch. He picked up the phone and fought the little voice in his head that said, “You’re crazy, don’t embarrass yourself.”  He sweet talked his way through the awkward request, through the “no’s” and “we-don’t-do-that’s” until they either felt pity on him or understood the flattery of the request, no strings attached.

On that special day, four very excited souls piled into a truck full of hot juicy BBQ and headed to Austin. With nervous hearts racing, Michael and company walked through the halls of Texas Monthly. The preparation leading to this day would put a boy scout to shame.  Nothing was left to chance. A carving station was set up in an area usually home to an office ping pong table. Every second of setup weighed heavily as the TM staff began to chatter as the smell of slowly smoked meat permeated the office air.

“I knew we did good when I watched the editor [Jake Silverstein] eat standing up, using the top of a nearby shelf to rest his plate.  He was standing directly underneath a BBQ neon sign hanging on the wall, the one they use for the 2008 cover. I’ll never forget watching him take several bites and with a mouth full of food turn to me and give me a thumbs up,” said Michael. “I just wanted them to know we existed.”

All the hard work and long hours was beginning to take its toll. Michael was reaching burnout, long days with little time off was proving exhausting for him and his now 18 year old son, Aaron. They say good help is hard to find, which is why when Omar Serna came knocking for the job he held in 1990, during the joint’s early years as Woody’s BBQ, he had no idea how welcomed he would be the second time around.

Omar wasn’t the first one to try his hand in a pitmaster apprenticeship under Michael.  Others came and went, leaving Michael to wonder if he’d ever find his guy. “Within a month I knew, he caught on so quick and asked all the right questions. Mistakes made were corrected and never repeated. He has the attention and focus needed to cook our barbeque. He is a God-send,” says Michael.

Omar’s mastering of the pit allowed for Michael to do the unthinkable, leave Hays Co BBQ and go manage a mechanic shop. After taking the advice of a close friend, he decided to let go and empower his budding pitmaster. If he had built a successful business and trained his people well, it would run without him. After five years of shaping and molding Hays Co BBQ, Michael vacated the building. False rumors of separation and divorce began to spread around San Marcos as Asenette received calls from friends inquiring about marital problems.

The business kept growing while Michael was away. Some might argue that the food got even tastier in his absence. Omar had taken what he had learned and only got better. It was a heavy burden to hand over to Omar, but the result was only proof that Michael made the correct decision to “season” his new counterpart.

Six months later Michael returned energized with a restful disposition on his face. The lines at Hays Co BBQ are still growing, but in his opinion, lines suck! Countless magazines glorify and celebrate a line of people waiting to be so lucky to have a taste of deliciousness before it sells out. It makes for a better story, until you’re the one waiting in the hot Texas sun hoping for a turn.

Lines are loathed at Hays Co BBQ.  It genuinely drives the owners crazy that such an idea is celebrated, because really, who likes to wait in line? It’s a contradiction to the idea of customer service. “The king of Texas cuisine deserves Texas hospitality,” says Michael. He understands the flattery of a line forming before you open your doors, but once the open sign is lit, it’s your obligation to be respectful of your customers’ time and move quickly. According to him, if the line were to dissipate fast once the doors opened, the need to wait in line before opening would greatly diminish. Same theory applies to food shortages and constantly running out before the customers do, when barbecue, by its very nature, is a food prepared for the masses.

Hays Co BBQ looks to stay ahead of their demand. Two more pits have been added to their arsenal with more on order, a wall was knocked down to make room for more seating, and a second register is on the way. It’s clear this is a barbecue joint that hasn’t forgotten what it means to be a true restaurant. “I’ll tell you what. If you spend two hours at my place, it won’t be spent standing in line.  It’ll be enjoying barbecue with your family and friends,” says Michael, as he smiles and takes a bite of his homemade jalapeno & cheddar sausage.