With no restaurant experience and very little money,
we began to transform an old barn-style eatery into our first bona fide location. By our way of thinking, what Texas barbeque ought to be: fresh food at an honest price, made to please and made to order.
One slept inside, one outside, and they kept a shotgun nearby to protect the meat, the equipment, and themselves (in that order). On slow days, Jim would head out onto Kirby Drive, sandwiches in hand, and invite people in to sit for a while.
And it certainly didn’t help that the whole street smelled of mesquite—the hardy little tree still piled outside our restaurants, and the same wood we’ve been smokin’ the Goode stuff with for years.
It doesn’t stop with our barbeque, either—
fajitas, fresh seafood, homegrown heirloom vegetables—the flame-kissed flavor of mesquite has threaded its way through every one of our menus since Jim famously served the city its first mesquite-grilled fajitas at our original Goode Co. Taqueria.
In fact, our barbeque pits haven’t stopped smoking since 1977—
because we figure when you’re in it for the long haul, no shortcut’s worth taking.
From slow-smoked meats to fresh Gulf seafood, watering holes to honky-tonks to urban haciendas, each of our restaurants across Houston is a way to pay tribute to our family traditions—and to the folks who made it impossible for us to ever go anyplace else. They’re family, too.
We work to share and preserve a way of life that honors our roots, respects our neighbors, and reflects the rich abundance of our region: the salt of the Gulf. The soul of the South. The spice of the border. And that sweet smoke of Texas.
Mesquite-fired meats, cooked low and slow.
Our Goode Co. Barbeque boasts tender brisket, sausage, ribs, and more—the tried-and-true family classics we’ve been dishing out for decades, slow-smoked and hand-rubbed with our secret blend of herbs and spices.
5109 Kirby Drive
713.522.2530
20102 Northwest Freeway
832.678.3562
8911 Katy Freeway
713.464.1901
Fresh Gulf seafood with a splash of Creole.
At Goode Co. Seafood and Fish Camp, fresh catches mingle with signature dishes shaped by years spent fishing up and down the Gulf coast.
Where Tex and Mex meet mesquite.
At Goode Co. Taquerias and Kitchen & Cantinas, we fuse Mexican dishes from our abuela’s kitchen with the smoky staples of a South Texas ranch.
4902 Kirby Drive
713.520.9153
9005 Katy Freeway
Suite 150
713.766.3434
8865 Six Pines Drive, Suite 150
Shenandoah, Texas 77380
1801 Yale Street
Houston, Texas 77008
One-of-a-kind experiences that bring Texans together.
Whether we’re serving up live music and a meal at our downtown honky tonk, or quenching folks’ thirst with our traveling bar cart, we toast to the times that make us scoot our boots, raise our glasses, and thank our lucky stars we’re in Texas.
5015 Kirby Drive
713.526.9700
Wherever the wind blows you
713.529.4616
One that traces our family’s beginnings back to Virginia,
and follows the trail through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Mexico, and Texas.
Inspired by the colorful historias of our grandmother, by youth immersed in Cajun lore and coastal waters, and by countless nights spent stoking the campfire—with only the crackle of meat and the hum of cicadas for company—our food celebrates the simple rituals and pleasures that led us to life in Texas. Hunting. Fishing. Planting a garden. Pickling the vegetables.
And serving it all the only way we know how—with a song and a longneck and good neighbors aplenty.
Graphic artist seeks escape from ad world. Outdoorsman at heart, with predilection for fishing and camp cooking. Darn good at both. Wanders into Red Barn Barbecue one late lunch. Strikes up conversation with owner, recent widow ready to return home to East Texas.
On whim, Jim trades in his corporate pen (and every penny in his pocket) for one run-down barbeque restaurant, and a new kind of craft. Goode Co. Barbeque is born, est. 1977.
Jim’s uncle. Prisoner of war in WWII who serves soldiers a taste of home as skilled POW cook and storyteller. Now keeper of coals and Jim’s right-hand Houstonian.
The quiet Mexicana muse behind vibrant tastes of Taqueria and Goode Co.’s luscious, world-famous Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie (still handmade each morning).
Inspired by Jim’s mother, Emma Longoria Goode, Texas meets Tampico at new counter-service burger and taco joint. Introduces Houston to fajitas grilled over mesquite, a Goode Co. signature. Also big on the breakfast scene.
Jim converts found passenger train car (and his years spent fishing and crabbing along Texas and Louisiana coasts) into first Goode Co. Seafood, a breezy sit-down diner off Westpark Drive, across street from its barbeque brethren.
Goode Co. formalizes shipping its Brazos Bottom Pecan Pies, shifting back-door operation into full-fledged mail order business now known as The Hall of Flame. Texas transplants across nation rejoice.
A nod to days of true Texas gentility, resplendent with glittering chandeliers and saddle collection that’ll make any vaquero say “Quiero!”
Son of Jim and second generation smokologist. Answers cattle call to help whet Houston’s bourgeoning appetite. Current-day owner and president of Goode Co.
Second seafood restaurant opens to appease Houston’s western-most seafoodies. Country club counterpart to its forefather, but with same mesquite calling card and singular dishes (ahoy, Campechana!).
Business and Internet continue to boom. Hall of Flame moves from brick and mortar to online only. Goode ’que now mere clicks away.
Jim and Levi convert former Hall of Flame retail front into true Texas honky tonk, bar, and restaurant, Houston’s new home for live tunes and two-steppin’.
Name inspired by two-ton antique armadillo whose interiors once served as DJ booth. Father and son haul from Wyoming, then re-skin with an armor of flashy mosaic tiles to guard their southwestern saloon.
Barbeque served with a side of hospitality.
Goode Co. invited to serve true Texas fare to true Texas fans at NRG Stadium, home to NFL’s Houston Texans. No comment on who provides the pigskin.
Levi builds state-of-the-art KITCHEN & COMMISSARY for crafting dishes and testing new recipes. Three times the size of its predecessor, this facility helps support future growth and development.
Famous Houston fiddler and longtime family friend. Played for free (and a bottle of Jack) during the early days. Levi dedicates massive Armadillo Palace expansion and new specialty whiskey joint, The Orange Blossom Bar, as tribute to Pappy and all Texas musicians who shape the sounds of our history. Second stage, bigger dance hall, and twinkling backyard, ready when you are.
Goode Co. rings in 40 years of serving Texas with blowout BBQ bash and multiple generations of Goode staff, Goode-comers, and plenty more Goode stuff to come.
Levi introduces full-service spinoff of original Taqueria, celebrating the family’s Mexican roots and campfire favorites with family-style dishes, stay-awhile drinks, and lively atmosphere in The Woodlands. A few years later, KITCHEN & CANTINA opens second location—and salt-rimmed patio—in Memorial.
Levi rolls out YONDERLUST, a gleaming Airstream-turned-bar-cart built to make the rounds through Houston’s event scene… or wherever else the wind may blow.
To help Houstonians during the 2020 pandemic, Levi takes Goode Co.’s fleet of delivery trucks, converts commissary into fulfillment center, and introduces grocery delivery business that brings Houston hard-to-find fare—ranging from fresh produce to paper towels to pre-made quality meals. GOODE CO. GROCERS, now at your doorstep.
Another brainchild to emerge out of the pandemic: Levi calls on his family’s southern roots to dish out unfussy fixins and buttermilk fried chicken via one plucky pop-up, serving up comfort when people crave it most. Folks flock.
Inspired by Jim Goode’s travels to the Texas coast, FISH CAMP opens in The Woodlands. The laidback locale applies the same straightforward philosophy as its cajun-inspired cousin, GOODE CO. SEAFOOD—and the result is a fresh-catch, full-flavor experience with an emphasis on raw oysters and whole fish.
Kitchen & Cantina makes its casa-sweet-casa in the Heights, dishing out authentic Mexican fare, smoky South Texas staples, and Damn Goode Margaritas to a new set of neighbors.
Goode toasts to 45 years of good food, done right—and the enduring tradition of connecting diverse flavors and families, places and traditions, and communities and generations. Thank you, Houston, for helping us serve Texas.
So before the rooster even crows, we’re pulling loaves of jalapeño cheese bread from our ovens. Or stuffing four different types of sausage. Or, because we think every piece of meat deserves a proper dose of personality, we’re blending barbeque rubs and seasonings in-house—and shipping longneck beer bottles chock-full of sauce to transplanted Texans who just can’t quit the stuff.
Whether we’re splitting mesquite for our smoker or cracking pecans for our pies, we honor the same commitment to craft as the generations before us. The only thing we won’t sacrifice to put the best food in front of you? The time it takes to do it right.
Even today—four decades, a family of restaurants, and countless mouthfuls later—we’re still filling the plates of those first few patrons who helped us find our feet. Because we still stand for the same thing: good food, done right.
Thanks for coming along.
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