David Holbrook was just reelected mayor of Kermit. He’s held the position in the small West Texas town near the New Mexico border since 2022, but it’s just one of his day jobs. The other is running Poor Daddy’s Smokehouse BBQ with his wife, Charlotte “Charlie” Holbrook.
The couple moved to Kermit from the DFW area in 2018 to escape the suburban sprawl and be closer to Holbrook’s hometown of Monahans, just 24 miles south of Kermit. Holbrook soon noticed the poorly funded city services in Kermit, which helped motivate his mayoral run. None of the fire trucks were stored indoors, trash pickup was infrequent, and the constant traffic from trucks going to and from the oil fields caused crumbling streets and massive potholes. Holbrook said he and Charlie recently took a drive to Andrews along Texas Highway 115. “My wife’s car was telling me I was drowsy,” he said, “but I was dodging potholes.”Folks in Kermit were used to the disrepair. “They were told they couldn’t have [nice things],” Holbrook said, but a review of the city’s finances found millions in tax revenue that could be invested, so he did. When we spoke, he was in New York seeking a bond rating for Kermit so it can finance a new fire station, a new city hall, and a new park. He was happy that an HTeaO had just opened, but the dining options in town are few. “If we’re not willing to invest in ourselves,” Holbrook asked, “how can I get Whataburger or Taco Bell to invest in us?” He wants to do for Kermit what he did for the barbecue joint he invested in back in 2008.
The entrance to Poor Daddy’s Smokehouse BBQ.Photograph by Daniel Vaughn
On a whim, Holbrook had tagged along with some friends to check out Bar 3 Smokehouse, in North Richland Hills. “My buddies thought they were going to step in and get rich,” he said. They all decided to invest in the business and rename the place Poor Daddy’s Smokehouse, but when the state comptroller informed them of its outstanding tax bill, Holbrook’s pals looked for a way out. He bought them out in 2010, took on the debt, and ran the restaurant with Charlie while maintaining his job in the oil and gas industry.
When his company encouraged him to work from West Texas, Holbrook was eager to make the move. He arrived first and lived in an RV while Charlie stayed behind to run the restaurant. She visited often, and after spending nearly an hour in line at a local wing shop, she convinced Holbrook to move the barbecue business to Kermit. “It was the absolute best thing we did,” he said.
They renovated an old Chevrolet dealership in the center of town to serve as the new Poor Daddy’s location. Charlie closed the original restaurant and moved to Kermit for good, bringing Black Betty, their Oyler rotisserie smoker. They also found a source of oak wood in a region not exactly known for lush forests. DJ’s Firewood & Stone, thirty minutes outside Weatherford, delivers a semi load of split oak to them every six months.
The couple slowly built a following and a staff. Their full-service joint now has 33 employees. Two years ago, they added a new, bright red Oyler named Rooster. You’ll walk past it on your way into the restaurant. The Holbrooks load it with about twenty briskets per day. The menu has grown as well. “We went from two pages to four pages during COVID,” Holbrook said. Alongside the list of smoked meats, he added meat loaf, burgers, Mexican food, and chicken spaghetti, among other items. The restaurant needs to bring in locals often to stay profitable, so the expanded options were a necessity. I arrived on a Friday, a few hours too early for steak night, but I was there for the barbecue anyway.
My combo plate was loaded with sliced brisket so overly soft I needed a fork to eat it. But it was still enjoyable with a splash of sauce. I was more taken with the St. Louis–cut ribs, which were perfectly done. Holbrook uses a savory rub and then sprinkles on a layer of brown sugar before smoking to give the bark a candy coating. A juicy smoked chicken thigh brined in pickle juice took on just a hint of the liquid’s flavor.
My server suggested adding jalapeños to my bologna-and-bacon sandwich, called the BOB, and she urged me to try it on the brioche roll instead of the Texas toast. Topped with melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, and mayo, it was a behemoth meant to fuel an oil field worker for the rest of the workday. For a simpler sandwich, Holbrook recommends the Old Fashion. The cooks finely chop the end cuts of all of the smoked meats that are trimmed on the cutting block and simmer them in barbecue sauce. He said a scoop of the mixture is like a barbecue sloppy joe.
The BOB (bologna and bacon) sandwich. Photograph by Daniel Vaughn 
Texas Smokers, brisket-stuffed jalapeño poppers. Photograph by Daniel Vaughn
The Poor Daddy’s version of a Texas Twinkie is called a Texas Smoker. The minimum is three per order, so thankfully, they’re on the smaller side. The jalapeños are stuffed with cream cheese and chopped brisket and then wrapped in a basket weave of thinly sliced bacon to hold it all in. The bacon was so crisp it was like biting into a snappy sausage casing, and the house-made ranch dressing for dipping was superb. Holbrook said the kitchen sends out an astounding thirty dozen Texas Smokers per day.
Fifteen side dishes are available, including fresh fruit when in season. I went with a hearty bowl of pinto beans, creamy mac and cheese, and pan-fried chunks of potato and onion. I was too full for dessert, but cobbler, banana pudding, and root beer floats are all on offer.
Holbrook said that after moving to Kermit, the business brings in about ten times the revenue of the old North Texas location. Lunch preorders for workers in the oil fields are a big reason. “There are times when I’ll do more business before we open than what I would do in a whole week in North Richland Hills,” he said. Despite the challenges the couple and their restaurant face in Kermit, Holbrook said, “We’re blessed to be in the oil field right now.”
Poor Daddy’s Smokehouse BBQ
123 N. Mulberry, Kermit
Hours: Sunday–Thursday 11–9, Friday–Saturday 11–9:30
Phone: 432-586-0102
Pitmaster: David and Charlotte “Charlie” Holbrook
Method: Oak in a wood-fired rotisserie
Year opened: 2019
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