After almost four decades living, eating and breathing Texas barbecue, a famed pitmaster will soon be working his last day behind the pits of a century-old smokehouse. Fresh off being inducted into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame, Roy Perez of Kreuz Market is officially planning to call it a career.
Kreuz Market, the Lockhart barbecue joint that has been serving Texas since 1900, made the announcement on Monday, August 10, that Perez will be retiring on September 5, writing, “THE LEGEND HANGS UP THE APRON.”
“After 39 years of tending the pits, commanding the smoke and mastering the craft of BBQ, Roy Perez is retiring!” Kreuz Marker wrote on Facebook. “Join us as we celebrate an incredible career, a beloved pitmaster and a legend of Texas barbecue.”
Perez has been working at Kreuz Market since 1987, when he walked in at 24 years old looking for a job and was hired on the spot by owner Rick Schmidt to be a sausage cook, according to his Barbecue Hall of Fame bio. Starting with zero knowledge of the barbecue industry, Perez spent the next years learning all aspects of the trade, perfecting Kreuz’s brisket, shoulder, sausage, ribs and all other smoked delights.
“They make it seem like it’s all scientific,” Perez said in a Culinary Institute of America video. “‘Oh you got to cut it this way, oh you’ve got to do this.’ When it’s real simple. Just salt and pepper, a little cayenne, put it in the pit, take it out. No wrapping, we don’t wrap anything. We know how many we need for the day. Just like I said it’s real simplicity.”
Perez, known for his Elvis Presley-style side burns, began his career at the original location on 208 South Commerce Street but stayed with Rick Schmidt when Kreuz Market moved a half mile north to 619 North Colorado Street. A photo on Kreuz Market’s website features Perez in the famous moment where the original coals were transported from the old smokehouse to the new address, forever linking him to Kreuz Market.
His legacy only grew when he took over as pitmaster when Rick Schmidt retired in 2011. Perez remains wheelchair-bound after suffering a stroke in 2024, but on the one-year anniversary, he was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.
“I’m like, ‘Wow, not even a stroke stopped me from doing my job,'” Perez said to KXAN. “It’s all worth it! Maybe God has plans for me, I don’t know. But I wouldn’t change it, one single bit.”
Perez has grown a loyal following after almost 40 years behind the pits, so it’s a safe bet that plenty of folks will be swinging by to say farewell come September 5.
Find it: 619 N. Colorado St., Lockhart, TX 78644
Dining and Cooking