Shawn Jones Closes Texas BBQ Joint as Beef Prices Jump 14.8%

4 articles · Updated · Newsweek · May 27

Kirby’s BBQ in New Caney, Texas, shut after pitmaster Shawn Jones said “absolutely insane” beef costs crushed margins and weakened customer traffic.
$36-a-pound brisket — the restaurant’s top seller — pushed a full meal toward $100, making it harder for Jones to keep the business viable.
86.2 million cattle and calves were on U.S. farms on Jan. 1, the smallest start-of-year herd since 1951, tightening supply as grilling season lifts demand.
April beef and veal prices were up 14.8% from a year earlier, including 14.5% for ground beef and 16.1% for steaks, and the USDA expects another 12.1% rise this year.
Texas barbecue operators are increasingly warning of closures as drought, fuel and financing costs, shrinking ranch land and slow herd rebuilding keep relief years away.

With beef prices soaring, is America's golden age of BBQ coming to an end?

Ranchers are struggling while meatpackers profit. Who is truly to blame for the $38 brisket?