The Muellers
Louie Mueller’s BarbecueIn Taylor, 205 W. Second (Hwy. 79)
512/352-6206, 800/580-6687
Monday-Saturday, 9am-8pm
John Mueller’s Bar-B-Q
1917 Manor Rd.
512/236-0283
Daily, 10am-8pm
The Mueller Barbecue saga began in 1936 when Louie Mueller arrived in Taylor from Illinois via Montana and Waco. After managing the town’s first Safeway store, he opened his own grocery, Louie Mueller’s Complete Food Store, in 1946. He soon added a barbecue shed in the parking lot, feeding hungry workers from the nearby railroad yard, the Taylor Bedding Company, and the surrounding cotton farms. The barbecue business just grew; by 1959, Louie acquired the cavernous 100-year-old building across the street (formerly a girls’ basketball court), built the monster pit in its center, and established Louie Mueller Barbecue in the place where it remains today.
Louie’s son Bobby started working with his father when he was 14. After college and the service, he returned to Taylor in 1964 and joined the family business; he worked in the grocery until it closed in 1974. Since then, Bobby has been at Louie Mueller’s Barbecue, assuming the management reins in 1976 when Louie officially retired. Louie, however, remained involved in the place for many years; he died in 1992.
With Bobby at the helm, the food and smoke-redolent ambience of Louie Mueller’s have remained virtually unchanged. (The exception is the breezy, screened-in dining area added in 1999.) The black-pepper rub still flavors the succulent briskets smoked in the original pit; the unique tomato, onion, and black pepper dipping juice still accompanies the meals served on butcher paper. Bobby says, “We’ve been doing things the same way for 42 years; I’m trying to stay true to what we’ve always been.” Such efforts are obviously working; the October 2001 issue of Gourmet refers to Louie Mueller’s “voluptuous beef brisket” and “unusually good extras” as classic.
Following the family tradition, John Mueller — Louie’s grandson and Bobby’s son — returned from college to join the business in 1996; he worked alongside his father until this year, when he left to start his own barbecue spot, John Mueller’s Bar-B-Q on Manor Road in Austin. The legacy continues.
This article appears in November 9 • 2001.
