We had the good fortune of connecting with James McFarland and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi James, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
The goal is to have at least one successful restaurant that can stand on its own, and hopefully build more concepts/other brands.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are Nomad Barbecue. We officially started the business in late 2019 with the idea of just being a pop up, and on the road to feed people craft barbecue. James was still fulltime in oil and working from home. Covid 19 and the lockdown happened in March of 2020. So we started feeding our neighborhood and once things loosened up that summer we began travelling and doing collaborations around the state and the country. Our main gig was running the kitchen for a barbecue brunch concept at The Growler Spot in Fulshear, Texas every other weekend. There has been nothing easy about a start up business, especially a restaurant, and even more so barbecue. Barbecue requires long days, short nights, and very early mornings. Fast forward to early 2022. We began looking in 2021 for a more permanent fixed location in the greater Houston area. After several locations falling through for various reasons a friend of ours reached out to us. Misfit Brewing. Juan, of Misfit Brewing (now Misifit Outpost) explained his collaboration concept with Fortress Beerworks in Spring, TX and how they recently took over an old burger joint, and inquired about Nomad taking over the kitchen side and turning into a barbecue spot. So we did. James finally quit his job in oil. The old kitchen staff quit, and we hired several seasoned guys to help us on the kitchen/pit side of operations. Our brand is a bit more edgy, and not your traditional good ole boy barbecue. We base alot of our menu on heavy metal themes/names. We are known for our all black sausage link Chorizo Diablo, Tacos Vampiros (vampire tacos), and our all black pork ribs. And of course our Brisket! We are a family run, family friendly place with live music 4 days a week, and a huge playground for the kids. Always have fresh beers on draft and in cans.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue. Bad Astronaut Brewing. Bar A BBQ. Nancys Hustle. Bretts Barbecue Shop. Astral Brewing. And any roadside taqueria/food truck serving street food.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Growler Spot. Reveille Barbecue Co. Misfit Oupost. Fortress Beerworks. And all of our friends and family who have supported us through out the years. And you the reader.
Website: nomadhtxbbq.com
Instagram: nomadhtx
Facebook: Nomad Barbecue
Image Credits
Randy Edwards took the picture of James slicing