Black Bark BBQ's Smokers Are Heating Up for Early December Opening

Chef David Lawrence has recently taken a small step back from 1300 on Fillmore to ready his new venture: Black Bark BBQ. The barbecue restaurant is directly across the street from 1300, and it’s just about ready to open. Come Thursday, December 3, Fillmore, which used to be a hub for San Francisco barbecue, will once again smell like smoke from Black Bark’s Texas-style menu that utilizes dry rubs, low and slow cooking and sides like smothered greens, poutine-like dirty fries and bourbon mac and cheese. The drink menu will feature 12 local beers and six local wines on tap, plus ciders. Lawrence created the menu with Texas barbecue veteran Edith Cheadle after spending three years visiting ‘cue joints across the country like Franklin’s in Austin and Bludso’s in Compton to research the cuisine. He decided to open Black Bark after seeing ribs fly off the menu at 1300, with people even requesting them after they were taken off the menu.

The space itself, which has room for 56 people, is very industrial, featuring a lot of burnt black wood, concrete floors, exposed lighting and metal shelving. It’s counter-service with TV’s for sports watching, and when it’s nice out, there will be seating for 15 people in the patio and beer garden area. Black Bark will be open Wednesday through Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Stay tuned for more menu details and a look around the space before opening.