The Salt Lick
The Salt Lick is a family-owned Texas barbecue restaurant founded in 1967, operating three Texas locations in Driftwood, Round Rock, and Austin-Bergstrom Airport. It serves pecan-shell-smoked brisket, sausage, and ribs via family-style dining, private events, catering, and nationwide shipping through Goldbelly.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1967
- HeadquartersDriftwood, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Salt Lick does
The Salt Lick is a family-owned Texas barbecue restaurant founded in 1967 by Thurman and Hisako Roberts in Driftwood, Texas, and currently operated by third-generation owner Scott Roberts. The company operates three physical locations: the original Driftwood flagship (capacity 200, BYOB policy, featuring the historic stone barbecue pit and adjacent Salt Lick Cellars wine venue), a Round Rock location adjacent to Dell Diamond AAA Baseball Field with full bar and banquet facilities, and a quick-service outpost at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport between Gates 20 and 21. Its core product is all-you-can-eat family-style and à la carte barbecue featuring brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and turkey smoked over pecan shells using Roberts family recipes traceable to wagon-train cooking techniques from the 1860s.
Revenue is generated across four streams: dine-in restaurant service (family-style priced at $32.95–$33.95 per person), private events and off-premise catering across five venue configurations with combined capacity of roughly 517 guests, nationwide shipping of fully cooked frozen barbecue and retail products via the Goldbelly marketplace (lower 48 U.S. states), and merchandise including signature BBQ sauces, dry rubs, and apparel. The company also operates the related Salt Lick Cellars wine brand on-site at Driftwood.
The business model is family-controlled with no external investors, parent company, or disclosed funding rounds. Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer dining, B2B event hosting, marketplace-based national D2C shipping through Goldbelly, and retail merchandise. Distribution depends on three physical Texas sites plus Goldbelly's logistics infrastructure, with customer acquisition driven by 57+ years of brand legacy, national media recognition (Daily Meal, Huffington Post), and Resy-based reservations rather than paid acquisition. Pricing is uniform pay-as-you-go at the unit level with no subscription or recurring-contract component disclosed.
The Salt Lick firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Salt Lick
- Legal name
- The Salt Lick
- Website
- https://saltlickbbq.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1967
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Salt Lick is a family-owned Texas barbecue restaurant founded in 1967, operating three Texas locations in Driftwood, Round Rock, and Austin-Bergstrom Airport. It serves pecan-shell-smoked brisket, sausage, and ribs via family-style dining, private events, catering, and nationwide shipping through Goldbelly.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where The Salt Lick is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Driftwood
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
The Salt Lick business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Restaurant Dine-In: All-you-can-eat family style dining at three Texas locations featuring brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and sides. Also includes à la carte plates, sandwiches, and meats by the pound.
- Private Events & Catering: Venue rentals for private dining including the original restaurant (capacity 200), breezeway (capacity 70), banquet room (capacity 120), Salt Lick Cellars outdoor venue (capacity 75), and Round Rock banquet facility (capacity 52). Catering services available.
- Mail Order & Shipping: Shipped nationwide through Goldbelly marketplace. Products arrive fully cooked, frozen, and ready to reheat. Includes Roberts Family Special packages, sauces, rubs, and merchandise.
- Merchandise & Sundries: Sale of barbecue sauces, dry rubs, merchandise, and packaged food items for at-home consumption.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Family Style - All You Can Eat |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual Plates |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Airport Location Pricing |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Private Event Rental |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | BBQ Sauce |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
The Salt Lick product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Salt Lick is a family-owned Texas Hill Country barbecue restaurant operating three dine-in locations (Driftwood, Round Rock, Austin-Bergstrom Airport) serving brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and turkey smoked over pecan shells using Roberts family recipes. The business also offers private event venue rentals across multiple on-site spaces, off-premise catering, and nationwide mail-order shipping of fully cooked frozen barbecue, sauces, rubs, and merchandise through the Goldbelly marketplace.
Product overview
The Salt Lick is a family-owned Texas barbecue restaurant chain with a single unified offering: in-person dining at three Texas locations (Driftwood, Round Rock, and Austin Airport), supplemented by nationwide shipping of their signature smoked meats and sauces via Goldbelly. Their core products include barbecue platters and family-style dining featuring brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and turkey smoked over pecan shells using Roberts family recipes dating to the 1860s. Additional offerings include private event venues (Original Restaurant, Breezeway, Banquet Room, Salt Lick Cellars), catering services, Salt Lick Cellars wine, and signature sauces and dry rubs sold by the bottle and gallon. The Driftwood original location is BYOB with access to Salt Lick Cellars wines, while Round Rock features a full bar.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Salt Lick BBQ In-Person Dining World-renowned Texas Hill Country barbecue served at three company-owned locations (Driftwood, Round Rock, and Austin-Bergstrom Airport). Offers all-you-can-eat family-style dining as well as à la carte plates featuring signature brisket, sausage, pork ribs, turkey, and sides smoked over pecan shells.
- Barbecue Nationwide Shipping Mail-order barbecue products shipped fully cooked and frozen to customers in the lower 48 states through the Goldbelly marketplace. Includes Roberts Family Special packages, brisket, ribs, sausage, turkey breast, sauces, dry rubs, and merchandise ready to reheat at home.
Quantifiable outcome
- Voted 4th place in World's Best Airport Restaurants by The Daily Meal
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Salt Lick
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Salt Lick technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature2 records
The Salt Lick partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- GoldbellycoreGoldbelly serves as the exclusive nationwide shipping partner for The Salt Lick, enabling the restaurant to ship fully cooked, frozen barbecue products, sauces, rubs, and merchandise to customers in the lower 48 states. This partnership extends the brand's reach beyond its physical Texas locations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Salt Lick competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Black's Barbecue: Family-owned Texas BBQ chain founded in 1932 in Lockhart, TX with multiple locations; comparable generational heritage brand and dine-in BBQ model to The Salt Lick.
- Snow's BBQ: Lexington, TX destination BBQ joint famed for its pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz; comparable Texas BBQ destination brand and traditional pit-smoking approach.
- Franklin Barbecue: Austin, TX-based iconic Texas BBQ restaurant founded by Aaron Franklin, widely considered the gold standard in the category and the most direct competitive comparison to The Salt Lick in destination Texas Hill Country BBQ.
- Kreuz Market: Legendary Texas BBQ institution in Lockhart, TX with multi-generational heritage, serving brisket, sausage, and ribs using traditional smoking methods — directly comparable heritage BBQ play to The Salt Lick.
- Louie Mueller Barbecue: Taylor, TX-based Texas BBQ institution dating to 1949, family-run with national acclaim; comparable heritage family-owned BBQ positioning to The Salt Lick.
- Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que: Llano, TX-based Hill Country BBQ institution with multiple locations; directly comparable regional Texas BBQ dine-in and catering model to The Salt Lick.
- City Market: Luling, TX multi-generational BBQ market and sausage specialist dating to 1908; comparable heritage Texas BBQ pit-smoking model in the Central Texas corridor.
Broad incumbents
- Mission BBQ: National multi-unit BBQ chain with ~100+ locations; broader incumbent that competes for casual American BBQ dining occasions but lacks The Salt Lick's heritage positioning and Hill Country destination appeal.
- Famous Dave's: Public national BBQ casual dining chain with dine-in, catering, and packaged retail products; broad incumbent offering overlapping BBQ products including sauces and rubs sold through retail channels.
Emerging players
- Joe's KC BBQ: Kansas City BBQ institution shipping nationwide via Goldbelly alongside The Salt Lick; directly competes in the premium shipped-BBQ channel and adjacent regional BBQ category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Salt Lick social profiles
Digital presenceThe Salt Lick financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Salt Lick leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Salt Lick funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Salt Lick M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Salt Lick
What does The Salt Lick do?
The Salt Lick is a family-owned Texas Hill Country barbecue restaurant operating three dine-in locations (Driftwood, Round Rock, Austin-Bergstrom Airport) serving brisket, sausage, pork ribs, and turkey smoked over pecan shells using Roberts family recipes. The business also offers private event venue rentals across multiple on-site spaces, off-premise catering, and nationwide mail-order shipping of fully cooked frozen barbecue, sauces, rubs, and merchandise through the Goldbelly marketplace.
Is The Salt Lick a public or private company?
The Salt Lick is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was The Salt Lick founded?
The Salt Lick was founded in 1967. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Salt Lick based?
The Salt Lick is headquartered in Driftwood, Canada, in the North America region.
How does The Salt Lick make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Dine-In is the primary driver. The others are private Events & Catering, mail Order & Shipping and merchandise & Sundries.
Who are The Salt Lick's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Black's Barbecue, Snow's BBQ, Franklin Barbecue, Kreuz Market, Louie Mueller Barbecue, Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que and City Market. Broad incumbents are Mission BBQ and Famous Dave's. Joe's KC BBQ is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Salt Lick have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Salt Lick.