The first time Joey Victorian really noticed anything about Mart, it was a “for sale” sign on one of its historic downtown buildings. He was driving from his home in northwest Houston into Waco to visit the Magnolia Market, aka the Silos, and drove through the tiny town of fewer than two thousand residents. (One of its native sons is actor Jesse Plemons.) Victorian called the number on the sign, but the building had just sold. Three months later, in early 2022, the sellers reached out after the original deal fell through. Victorian bought it and another empty building the next block over, and he finally had a home for his barbecue joint.
I first tried Victorian’s barbecue when he set up a food truck in Houston in 2018. Back then he was planning to open a brick-and-mortar near downtown the following year, but it never materialized. Regardless, Victorian continued cooking for events and pop-ups, and helping barbecue friends when they needed it. “One day I’ll be able to afford it, or something good will happen,” he said to himself then. In 2022, good things did happen.
The day after Victorian closed on the buildings in Mart, he got a call from a producer about a Netflix show he had been auditioning for for months. He sent photos of his brisket and videos of his tri-tip cooking technique. In the final round he had to cook a rolled and stuffed pork belly for the executive producer over Zoom. When Victorian learned he was selected for the show, he had just three days to make it Georgia to film. Renovating his new building would have to wait.
Arriving on set in March 2022, Victorian learned he would be competing on Barbecue Showdown (called American Barbecue Showdown in its first season). He went up against seven other contestants, and was eliminated in the fourth episode. Judges Kevin Bludso and Melissa Cookston said they would have preferred eggs in the steak-and-potato breakfast taco he served them. The whole filming process took a month, but now he could return to Mart to get started on renovations.
The restaurant sits at the intersection of the only stoplight in Mart. The brick building was constructed in 1901. It housed a cafe before Victorian bought it. He outfitted an apartment for his living space in the back of the building. That’s where he spends his weekends now. Victorian also added a pit room, and gathered a few smokers. M Grills from Nebraska built him a custom offset dubbed the Mandalorian, which you can find mounted on a trailer parked beside the restaurant. Bludso gifted him a Bewley smoker that had been a workhorse at the original Bludso’s BBQ in Compton before it closed. Kingsford’s Preserve the Pit Program also awarded Victorian a grant in 2022, and the extra cash helped while in the middle of construction.
The renovation was a slow process with Victorian and his family doing much of the work. Victorian built tables, benches, and framed walls. He collected his Star Wars memorabilia for display, and some other nostalgic touches like a pinball machine and a television screen just for playing old school Nintendo NES games. Victorian’s goal was to debut the place before Barbecue Showdown aired last year. He beat it by two weeks, and opened the doors on May 5, 2023.
Victorian was born and raised in Houston, but his family is from Iowa, Louisiana. He has a photo hanging of his grandfather at a boucherie there, where the family broke down whole hogs and made sausage and boudin to sell at his meat market. There’s no boudin on Victorian’s menu, and the plump beef sausages come from Kiolbassa, but he makes a mean maque choux as an homage to his family. He calls it Creole corn on the menu, and blends peppers, onions, and spices with corn kernels. It was a nice change of pace from the usual creamed corn or esquites served at many barbecue joints these days.
Crushing Takis to top creamy mac and cheese isn’t a Creole tradition, but I preferred their spice and crunch to the more popular topping of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Pinto beans with a layer of melted jack cheese and cilantro were well seasoned, and the whipped banana pudding was satisfying. It was nice to get a fresh option like the cucumber salad topped with feta cheese and pickled onion, though the dressing was bracingly acidic.
Victorian prefers tartness to sweetness in his barbecue. Three big spare ribs looked glossy, so I expected a sweet glaze, but the finish was a vinegar-based mop sauce. They could have used more seasoning and gone longer on the smoker, but I appreciated the novel direction. Neither of the two sauces offered are sweet: the tomato sauce tastes of onions and lemon juice, and the golden mustard sauce is thinned with pickled jalapeño juice.
Victorian normally offers half chickens, but opted for wings the day I visited. They’re a good deal at ten for $10, and get a nice dose of flavor from the oak smoke and Victorian’s house-made Creole seasoning. I would have preferred the crispiness of a high-heat finish in the fryer, but they were still satisfying.
Beef is the focus here, as evidenced by the bull’s head in the logo hanging above the door. Victorian dubbed himself the Texas Tri-tip King on Barbecue Showdown, but he only serves the cut on Saturdays. When I visited on a Thursday, I was treated to juicy, tender brisket with a flavorful bark. Victorian’s rub includes kosher salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powders, cumin, and unexpected yellow mustard powder. It’s well-smoked brisket with pizazz.
The all-natural brisket is from 44 Farms hence the $32-per-pound price tag. That can be a tough sell to a small-town audience. “If it was up to them I’d just sell sandwiches,” he said. The barbecue sandwich with a half pound of brisket on an artisan bun from a Houston bakery is $18. Victorian said he’s not willing to skimp on quality or quantity to make it less expensive.
Victorian’s team is small (it was just him and employee Arthur Saldaña working when I visited) because demand is unpredictable from day to day. In the hour I spent there in the midst of what should have been the lunch rush, Victorian served three other groups of customers. The lean crew also means Victorian has to close if he has an event or competition to attend. I made plans to visit Victorian’s four times, but was thwarted on the first three due to the restaurant being closed, so check the restaurant’s social media before making your way to Mart. Customers coming from the center of Waco only have a twenty minute drive east, about five minutes less than the trek out to Helberg Barbecue in Woodway in the other direction.
“I always wanted to have a barbecue business in a small town,” Victorian said. He has his wish now, and is planning to open an event space in the other building he purchased. “I want to help this small town get better,” Victorian told me. Then maybe a few more folks will pass through Mart like he did a few years back, and hopefully they’ll be hungry for brisket.
Victorian’s Barbecue
419 E. Texas Avenue, Mart
Phone:254-300-6122
Hours:Thursday–Saturday 11–4
Pitmaster:Joey Victorian
Method:Oak in an offset smoker
Year opened:2023
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