A popular Texas barbecue restaurant that came back to life just a few years ago is now expanding with a new location. Tyler Risinger, co-owner of Dozier’s BBQ in Fulshear, announced Saturday he’s opening a second brick-and-mortar location of his smokehouse in Needville, a small city in Fort Bend County about 40 miles south of Katy.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Risinger said the move was personally important, as it brought his story “full circle.”
“I’m a proud Needville High School graduate, and this community is a big part of who I am,” Risinger wrote Saturday. “My passion for restaurants actually started as I worked in the original Pier 36 in Needville, the same building where Keith Brochhausen and I are now bringing Dozier’s BBQ. For me, this isn’t just opening another restaurant. It really feels like coming home.”
Risinger took over Dozier’s in July 2024, just four months after the restaurant closed during its 67th year of operation. Risinger’s great-grandfather Ed Dozier started the business back in 1957; ownership changed hands and left the family years later, leading to its abbreviated closure.
Dozier’s has long represented a community center of sorts in Fulshear, with residents coming in on weekends to buy meat and eat barbecue. The smokehouse was known for its house-made sausage and its “Presidential bacon,” the prefered bacon of President George H.W. Bush.
Customers pile on the meats at Dozier’s BBQ in Fulshear, Texas. Dozier’s is adding a new location in Fort Bend County, Texas, according to an announcement last week. (Tyler Risinger/Handout)
In late 2025, Risinger and co-owner Brochhausen expanded Dozier’s into The Finn, a downtown Houston food hall. They also ran 2-M’s Malt N Burger Mart in Rosenberg, but they announced last month the closure of that longtime restaurant. 2-M’s closed permanently on Sept. 15.
In the post Saturday, Risinger reflected on his childhood memories in Needville and contrasted them with the present-day city’s landscape, which he noted was evolving quickly.
“I grew up here. I graduated here. And this is where my love for the restaurant business began,” Risinger wrote.
Risinger only noted the new Dozier’s was “coming soon.” No opening date has been announced yet.
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This article originally published at 69-year-old Texas barbecue restaurant adding Houston area location.
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