In 1985, Kenneth Manning and Joe Melton converted an old gas station along Interstate 35 in southern Dallas into a barbecue joint. They built a smoker along the back wall from brick and steel and called the place Smokey Joe’s Bar-B-Que. That pit was the heart of the restaurant. When Kris Manning, then age 23, bought the place from his father in 2013, that pit was a reminder of the legacy that came before him. It was the only smoker pitmaster Earl Harris, today an eighteen-year veteran of Smokey Joe’s, had cooked on. That changed several months ago when Manning added two steel offset smokers. Then, a few weeks ago, he tore the old smoker out brick by brick. It was a painful step, but…View Original PostThe post The Transformation of Smokey Joe’s Bar-B-Que Is Stunning appeared first on Texas Monthly.