A bitter dispute between former Texas barbecue co-owners turned crosstown rivals ended in a whimper earlier in the week. A five-year-long barbecue drama that saw both sides file lawsuits against each other in 2023 fizzled out with not-so-stellar results, and both pitmasters were several thousand dollars lighter.
After two years of lawsuits between the owners of Lockhart Smokehouse and Crossbuck BBQ — both in the Dallas area — a civil court jury ended up splitting its decisions, which, according to D Magazine, has both sides claiming victory.
The drama started in 2020 when Tim McLaughlin, pitmaster and co-owner of Lockhart Smokehouse — a North Texas barbecue joint with locations in Dallas, Plano and Arlington — was fired by majority owners Jeff and Jill Bergus. The Dallas Morning News reports McLaughlin was fired after he “expressed concerns over the handling of the restaurant’s finances and asked why dividends were not being paid out to investors at the time.”…