BEAUMONT, Texas — Black-owned restaurants are a staple in Southeast Texas cuisine.
Charlie's Bar-B-Que is one of the tasty smoked barbecue spots in our community.
“You know, I hadn't always been a barbecue man. I used to cut up out here in the streets,” said owner Charles Brewer.
Charlie's grew from a well-known food truck into a popular restaurant which is now located at 3125 College Street in Beaumont.
“Well actually go as far back as when I was a kid. I watched my grandfather do a lot of barbecuing,” Brewer said.
It was love at first bite for Brewer.
“So actually, I grew up thinking there was something magical about barbecue,” Brewer said.
Magic that stretched beyond his imagination and into his community.
“I noticed just riding around town look like people just having a good time when the pit was smoking,” Brewer said.
So, he became a pitmaster.
“I decided to buy a barbecue pit in the truck originally from my uncle. And I started off like going to like all the nightclubs here in Beaumont,” Brewer said.
What once started as a popular food truck is now a booming restaurant.
“Out of nowhere, I got a phone call. The guy wanted to know if was interested in this building, and it's been up ever since,” Brewer said.
Charlie's Bar-B-Que is one of Southeast Texas's Black-owned staples.
“You have to put yourself in the position to build clientele. So, then you have people to follow wherever you go,” Brewer said.
Even with his clientele, Charles recognizes the disadvantages Black restaurant owners face.
“If there is a need for more Black-owned restaurants because we are outnumbered by any other races when it comes down to owning a business period,” Brewer said.
According to 2020 data from the National Restaurant Association, about 8% of restaurants are owned by Black people.
In Beaumont, there are roughly 15 Black-owned restaurants.
“To run a business, you have either have a lot of money or a whole lot of hustling,” Brewer said. “I didn't have a lot of money. it was the hustle that I had. I'm the one that's going to make things happen.”
His advice to future Black restaurant owners is simple: Be consistent.
“Yeah, I mean, as a Black person, don't give up. Keep pushing. I mean, if that's your dream, go after it,” Brewer said.