Headed up by owner and pitmaster Leonard Botello IV, Truth BBQ is a critically acclaimed Texas barbecue brand.
“Botello opened TRUTH BBQ Brenham in a small shack off a rural highway that runs between Austin and Houston in the summer of 2015,” says the Truth BBQ website. “Armed with a used Klose pit as a complete unknown in the barbeque world – Leonard surprised the industry in 2017 when TRUTH BBQ was awarded #10 on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints list in 2017, and was recently ranked in the top 3 on the 2021 Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ List.”
Now, Truth BBQ appears to be branching out with a new restaurant in Charleston. Plans submitted to the City of Charleston Technical Review Committee show a new Truth BBQ location in the works at 1300 Rutledge Ave—the former home of Rutledge Cab Co.
Leonard Botello IV has not responded to requests for comment, but stay tuned for more details as this story develops.
Meanwhile, the Post and Courier reported yesterday on the plans, and added a little context on what might be drawing the concept to the area:
“Botello debuted Truth BBQ in 2015 in a small shack off a rural highway between Austin and Houston. He and his wife, Abbie Byrom-Botello, who serves as the company’s chief of operations, added a second location in Houston in 2019. The couple married in Charleston in 2021. Botello also has experience cooking in the Lowcountry, having participated in the Holy Smokes barbecue festival and the Charleston Wine + Food Festival.”
“My job is to honor the legacy and history of Texas Barbecue while pushing the industry forward with a younger class of barbecue cooks,” says a statement from Botello on the Truth BBQ site. “I’m most proud when a customer recognizes an expert cook by one of my guys in the pit room. When they can do it as well as I can, I’ve succeeded.”
You can keep up with all things Truth BBQ by following @truth_bbq on Instagram.
