Kreuz Market

What Kreuz Market does

Kreuz Market operates a historically significant Texas barbecue restaurant in Lockhart, TX, at 619 N Colorado Street, with the brand dating to 1900 and ownership currently held by fifth-generation Keith Schmidt. The core product is traditional Texas BBQ smoked over post oak wood in century-old brick pits, using only salt and pepper as seasoning, with a trade secret sausage recipe (85% beef, 15% pork) unchanged since 1900. The company's technology foundation is intentionally artisanal rather than digital, anchored by physical brick pits whose original hot coals were transported from the previous location in 1999 to preserve the smoke profile.

The business operates across five revenue streams: on-premise dining at the Lockhart location (Mon-Sat 10:30am-8pm, Sun 10:30am-6pm), nationwide Ship BBQ direct-to-consumer delivery via UPS with thermal dry ice packaging (products ranging from $20 sausage orders to $538 Texas Tailgate Dinners), full-service catering for weddings, corporate events, festivals, and sporting venues, wholesale sausage distribution to retailers and restaurants with a white label option, and branded merchandise (apparel, accessories, BBQ sauce, rub, gift cards). Pricing is unit-based per pound on-premise and per order online, with a flat $23 dry ice and thermal box fee for shipping.

The customer base spans individual consumers (both local visitors and out-of-state buyers in markets like Florida, Colorado, and California), corporate gifting clients, event organizers, and wholesale partners. The company employs 7 people, has no external funding or parent company, and relies primarily on word-of-mouth, its legendary brand reputation, and its e-commerce website for customer acquisition. The same family also operates separately branded Schmidt Family Barbecue and Lockhart Smokehouse restaurants around Texas, extending the family's BBQ ventures beyond the flagship Kreuz Market.

Name

Kreuz Market

Legal name

Kreuz Market

Website

https://kreuzmarket.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1875

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kreuz Market is a historic Texas BBQ restaurant in Lockhart, TX, founded in 1900 and now in its fifth generation of family ownership. It sells traditional post oak-smoked meats on-premise, ships nationwide via UPS, offers catering, wholesale sausage with white label, and branded merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Barbecue Restaurant

NAICS

Meat Retailers (445240), Meat and Meat Product Merchant Wholesalers (42447)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

BBQ Sauce & Marinades Manufacturing (AFAKADAH)

Keywords

• Texas BBQ restaurant
• Smoked brisket
• BBQ catering services
• Wholesale sausage
• BBQ mail order

Headquarters

HQ city

Lockhart

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. On-Premise Dining: Walk-in customers dine at the Lockhart, TX restaurant location purchasing BBQ by the pound, sausage by the link, and sides
2. Ship BBQ (Nationwide Shipping): Fully cooked, vacuum-sealed smoked meats shipped nationwide via UPS with dry ice and thermal packaging
3. Catering Services: On-site catering team and drop-off catering for weddings, corporate events, festivals, private parties, and sporting venues
4. Wholesale Sausage: Wholesale sausage sales nationwide to retailers and restaurants with white label option available
5. Merchandise: Branded merchandise including apparel (teas, hoodies, caps), accessories (koozies, aprons, bandanas), food products (BBQ sauce, rub), and gift items

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Kreuz Market operates a single-location Texas barbecue restaurant in Lockhart, TX, smoking meats over post oak wood in century-old brick pits using a salt-and-pepper dry rub. It sells smoked brisket, sausage, ribs, turkey, and beef cuts to on-premise diners, ships fully cooked vacuum-sealed BBQ nationwide via UPS, provides full-service catering for events, and distributes wholesale sausage to retailers and restaurants with a white-label option.

Product overview

Kreuz Market is a historic Texas BBQ restaurant founded in 1900, operating as a single-location establishment with a diversified product portfolio. The core offering centers on oak-smoked meats including brisket, sausage, pork ribs, beef cuts, and poultry, prepared using century-old recipes and traditional brick pit smoking methods. The company operates three main business lines: (1) Dine-in restaurant service at their Lockhart, TX location, (2) Ship BBQ products for nationwide delivery including individual smoked meats, specialty sausages, and curated dinner packages named after family members (Rick Schmidt BBQ Dinner, Keith Schmidt BBQ Dinner, Roy Perez Pork Dinner), and (3) Catering services for events ranging from weddings to corporate functions. Additionally, the company offers wholesale sausage to retailers and restaurants with white-label options, plus branded merchandise including apparel, BBQ sauces, dry rubs, and kitchen goods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dine-In Restaurant Service
• Shipped Texas Brisket
• Shipped Original Sausage
• Shipped Pork Spare Ribs
• Shipped Smoked Turkey Breast
• Shipped Beef Clod
• Shipped Beef Short Ribs
• Shipped Prime Rib
• Shipped Jalapeño Cheese Sausage
• Shipped Smoked Wieners
• Shipped Dry Original Sausage
• Shipped Dry Jalapeño Sausage
• Shipped Pork Chops
• Shipped Pit Ham
• Mixed Sausage Box
• Rick Schmidt BBQ Dinner
• Keith Schmidt BBQ Dinner
• Roy Perez Pork Dinner
• Ham & Sausage Dinner
• Lockhart Roundup Dinner
• Texas Tailgate Dinner
• Prime Rib BBQ Dinner
• Event Catering Services
• Wholesale Sausage (with White Label Option)
• Kreuz BBQ Sauce
• Kreuz Rub
• Branded Merchandise (Apparel & Goods)
• Digital Gift Card

Quantifiable outcome

• Products can be stored frozen and vacuum sealed for up to 3 months
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• UPScoreOthersUPS is used exclusively for all perishable shipments of Kreuz BBQ products nationwide. They offer Next-Day Air, 2nd-Day Air, 3-Day Select, and Ground shipping options with temperature-controlled packaging using dry ice.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Franklin Barbecue: Austin, TX-based iconic Texas BBQ joint that competes for the same national media attention and pilgrimage-driven customer base as Kreuz. Operates a single-location, counter-service smoked BBQ model with strong brand recognition.
• Smitty's Market: Direct heritage peer occupying Kreuz's original 1900 building in Lockhart, TX since 1999. Operates the same post-oak brick-pit smoking tradition and is widely considered Kreuz's closest analog and most direct local competitor.
• Louie Mueller Barbecue: Taylor, TX heritage BBQ institution operating since 1949 with post-oak smoking and family ownership. Comparable to Kreuz as a multi-generational, single-location Texas BBQ destination.
• Snow's BBQ: Lexington, TX destination BBQ joint run by pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz. Directly comparable as a single-location, heritage Texas BBQ competitor with strong national reputation and limited weekly operating hours.
• The Salt Lick BBQ: Driftwood, TX family-run BBQ destination with on-premise dining, catering, and wholesale/retail product lines. Closely comparable to Kreuz in offering brick-pit smoked meats plus packaged sauces, rubs, and shipping — a multi-channel heritage BBQ brand.
• Black's BBQ: Lockhart, TX heritage BBQ competitor (since 1932) that, like Kreuz, ships nationwide and operates a brick-and-mortar location in the BBQ Capital of Texas. Directly competes for the same Lockhart tourist traffic and DTC shipping customers.

Emerging players

• 2M Smokehouse: San Antonio-based newer-generation Texas BBQ restaurant that competes with Kreuz for premium BBQ mindshare, catering, and national press. Comparable product category but smaller heritage footprint and more limited retail/wholesale distribution.
• Goldee's BBQ: Dallas-area award-winning BBQ joint. Comparable as a Texas BBQ competitor targeting national recognition and DTC shipped product, though with a shorter operating history than Kreuz.

Regional players

• Cattlemen's Steakhouse: Oklahoma City, OK heritage steakhouse and BBQ destination operating since 1910. Comparable as a multi-generational, single-region BBQ/steakhouse icon, though with a different geographic market than Kreuz.
• Hard Eight BBQ: Coppell, TX pit-smoked BBQ chain with multiple locations and catering services. Comparable product category (post-oak smoked brisket, sausage, ribs) with broader geographic footprint but less heritage-brand positioning than Kreuz.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/czandcoldsnap
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kreuz-market

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kreuz Market