Post Oak Barbecue, a slow-cooked ode to Central Texas, will close for good next month

Both Post Oak Barbecue’s roving food truck and Arden Arcade restaurant will close for good next month, according to a social media announcement Monday.

The food truck will be retired after a 4-8 p.m. stint Friday at Moksa Brewing Co. in Rocklin, while the restaurant will remain open this weekend and next.

“It will be our final food truck stop as we are closing down,” the post read. “Our final restaurant days are 9/25, 9/26, 10/3, 10/10. We hope to see you guys out there.”

Tony Nguyen and Ryan Metzger founded their Central Texas-style barbecue joint as a bright orange food truck in 2017 and opened the brick-and-mortar restaurant at 3200 Fulton Ave. in 2019. The childhood friends and Sacramento natives conceived of Post Oak after a road trip to Austin.

Tucked away between a pawn shop and used car dealership, Post Oak developed a reputation as a hidden gem thanks to its slow-cooked meats, some of which were smoked up to 16 hours. Classics like ribs, brisket and chicken dominated the menu, and like any good old-shop barbecue restaurant, they often sold out well before the posted closing time.

Post Oak also channeled Nguyen’s Vietnamese heritage at times with items such as the house banh mi, which married brisket, pork belly, pulled pork or bratwurst with pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro and aioli. Long offered as a special but recently added to the permanent menu, it was highlighted in a Food & Wine feature earlier this month.

It’s unclear if Post Oak will continue to fulfill catering orders. Nguyen and Metzger did not immediately respond to a request for comment.