Smoke'N Ash BBQ

Smoke'N Ash BBQ is a family-founded restaurant in Arlington, Texas, known for combining Central Texas barbecue with Ethiopian cooking and a broader Tex-Ethiopian fusion menu. The business was founded by Patrick Hicks, who is from Waco, Texas, and his wife Fasicka, who is originally from Addis Ababa. The couple met in Arlington in 1997, later married, and eventually built the restaurant around both of their culinary backgrounds. The business began as a food truck in 2012 and subsequently operated pop-up food stands around Texas. In 2018, the founders opened a permanent restaurant in Arlington. The original concept focused primarily on Texas barbecue, but the menu expanded in 2019 as Fasicka introduced Ethiopian dishes. Customers who enjoyed both culinary traditions encouraged the restaurant to combine them, leading to a distinctive fusion offering rather than treating barbecue and Ethiopian food as separate concepts. The restaurant’s barbecue selection includes brisket, pork and lamb ribs, sausage, pulled pork, and pulled lamb. Its Ethiopian offerings include tibs, doro wat, and key siga wat, while fusion dishes include Ethiopian-inspired nachos and combinations that use Ethiopian spices and condiments alongside smoked meats. The restaurant is particularly associated with awaze and berbere, a traditional Ethiopian spice blend. The berbere used by Smoke'N Ash BBQ is made by Fasicka’s sister and shipped from Ethiopia, giving the restaurant’s seasoning program a direct family and cultural connection. The menu also includes grilled and fried fish such as catfish, tilapia, and red snapper. Side dishes bridge Southern, Texan, and Ethiopian traditions, including injera, Texas toast, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, collard greens, fried okra, and lentil stew. Desserts include peach cobbler and Texas sheet cake prepared with berbere, extending the restaurant’s cross-cultural approach beyond savory food. In 2022, Smoke'N Ash BBQ partnered with Goldbelly, allowing selected foods to be shipped to customers outside Texas and expanding the brand’s reach beyond its local dining room. In 2023, it moved to a larger site at 5904 South Cooper Street in Arlington. The new location added a full bar and provided more space for the restaurant’s growing operation. Smoke'N Ash BBQ has received significant editorial and culinary recognition. The New York Times included it among its 50 best restaurants in 2022 and named it one of the 20 best Texas barbecue restaurants of the new generation in 2023. The restaurant has also been recognized by the Michelin Guide, while Texas Monthly critic Daniel Vaughn praised both its food and customer service. In 2025, Smoke'N Ash BBQ was named a semi-finalist for a James Beard Foundation Award. Its positioning rests on an unusually specific combination of Texas barbecue technique, Ethiopian flavor systems, family heritage, and an accessible full-service restaurant format.

Smoke'N Ash BBQ developed from the partnership of Patrick Hicks and Fasicka, whose different regional and cultural backgrounds became the foundation of the restaurant's identity. Hicks is from Waco, Texas, while Fasicka was born in Addis Ababa. The couple met in Arlington in 1997, later married, and raised two children. Their eventual restaurant concept connected Hicks's familiarity with Texas barbecue to Fasicka's Ethiopian culinary traditions. The business began in 2012 as a food truck. Before establishing a permanent restaurant, the founders also operated pop-up food stands in Texas. This early period allowed them to test demand and refine a barbecue-focused offering in different settings. In 2018, they opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Arlington, giving the brand a fixed home and a platform for a larger menu. The most important culinary development followed in 2019, when Fasicka began adding Ethiopian dishes. The restaurant had initially centered on Texas barbecue, but diners responded positively to the Ethiopian food and began asking for combinations of the two traditions. Smoke'N Ash BBQ consequently developed a Tex-Ethiopian fusion approach. Rather than simply adding a few international sauces, the restaurant incorporated recognizable Ethiopian dishes, spices, condiments, and serving traditions into a menu that also retained smoked meats and Southern sides. A notable part of the restaurant's flavor profile is its use of awaze and berbere. The berbere spice blend is made by Fasicka's sister and shipped from Ethiopia, connecting the restaurant's everyday cooking to the founders' family network and Ethiopian heritage. The menu grew to include brisket, pork and lamb ribs, sausage, pulled pork, pulled lamb, tibs, doro wat, key siga wat, Ethiopian-inspired nachos, and several types of fish. Sides such as injera, Texas toast, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried okra, potato salad, and lentil stew reflect the brand's deliberate mixture of culinary traditions. Desserts, including peach cobbler and berbere-seasoned Texas sheet cake, extend the concept into the final course. In 2022, the restaurant expanded its distribution model through a partnership with Goldbelly. This made it possible to send selected foods beyond Texas and gave a primarily local restaurant a national direct-to-consumer channel. The same year, The New York Times included Smoke'N Ash BBQ among its 50 best restaurants, a notable recognition for a relatively small independent restaurant. The brand continued its physical expansion in 2023 by moving to a larger Arlington location at 5904 South Cooper Street. The new site added a full bar and increased the restaurant's capacity. That year, The New York Times also placed Smoke'N Ash BBQ among the 20 best Texas barbecue restaurants of the new generation. Additional recognition came from the Michelin Guide, and Texas Monthly critic Daniel Vaughn highlighted the restaurant's food and customer service. In 2025, the restaurant became a James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist. Together, these developments mark Smoke'N Ash BBQ's evolution from a food truck into an acclaimed restaurant with a distinctive regional and cultural point of view.

• 2025

  James Beard semifinalist recognition

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  Smoke'N Ash BBQ was named a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation Award.

• 2023

  Move to larger Arlington premises

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  The restaurant moved to 5904 South Cooper Street and added a full bar.

• 2022

  Goldbelly partnership and national recognition

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  Smoke'N Ash BBQ partnered with Goldbelly for interstate shipping and was included on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants.

• 2019

  Ethiopian menu expansion

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  Fasicka began adding Ethiopian dishes, initiating the restaurant's more developed Tex-Ethiopian fusion identity.

• 2018

  First permanent restaurant opens

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  After operating food trucks and Texas pop-ups, the founders opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Arlington.

• 2012

  Food-truck launch

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  The founders began operating Smoke'N Ash BBQ as a food truck.

• 1997

  Founders meet in Arlington

  [1]Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org

  Patrick Hicks and Fasicka met in Arlington, Texas, before later marrying and developing the restaurant concept that became Smoke'N Ash BBQ.

A family-run Texas barbecue restaurant differentiated by Ethiopian spices, traditional Ethiopian dishes, and Tex-Ethiopian fusion cuisine.

• Barbecue · 2012

  Texas barbecue

  The restaurant's barbecue range includes brisket, pork and lamb ribs, sausage, pulled pork, and pulled lamb. These offerings provide the Texas barbecue foundation of the menu and are served alongside both conventional Southern sides and Ethiopian-influenced condiments.

• Ethiopian cuisine · 2019

  Ethiopian specialties

  Ethiopian dishes include tibs, doro wat, and key siga wat. The restaurant also uses injera and Ethiopian flavor components, including awaze and berbere, to give the menu a direct connection to Ethiopian cooking traditions.

• Fusion cuisine · 2019

  Tex-Ethiopian fusion

  Fusion items combine the restaurant's smoked meats and Texas barbecue format with Ethiopian flavors and preparations. Ethiopian-inspired nachos are a representative example of the customer-influenced fusion direction that emerged after Ethiopian dishes were added to the menu.

• Seafood

  Fish dishes

  Smoke'N Ash BBQ also serves grilled and fried fish, including catfish, tilapia, and red snapper. These dishes broaden the menu beyond barbecue and Ethiopian stews while retaining the restaurant's grilled and Southern comfort-food orientation.

• Side dishes and desserts

  Sides and desserts

  Side dishes include injera, Texas toast, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, collard greens, fried okra, and lentil stew. Desserts include peach cobbler and Texas sheet cake flavored with berbere, showing how the restaurant applies its cross-cultural approach across the menu.

• 2023

  Relocate to a larger restaurantStrategy

  Background

  The business had developed from a food truck and pop-up operation into an established Arlington restaurant.

  Action taken

  The restaurant moved to 5904 South Cooper Street and added a full bar.

  Aftermath

  The move expanded the physical operation and added a beverage component to the restaurant experience.

  Source

• 2022

  Add interstate food shippingStrategy

  Background

  The restaurant's physical business was based in Arlington, while interest in its food extended beyond the local market.

  Action taken

  Smoke'N Ash BBQ partnered with Goldbelly to ship selected food products to customers in other states.

  Aftermath

  The partnership gave the restaurant a national delivery channel and broadened access to its barbecue and fusion offerings.

  Source

• 2019

  Broaden the menu into Tex-Ethiopian fusionStrategy

  Background

  The restaurant originally focused on Texas barbecue. Customers responded favorably to Ethiopian dishes introduced by Fasicka and asked for ways to enjoy both culinary traditions.

  Action taken

  Smoke'N Ash BBQ expanded its menu with Ethiopian specialties and fusion dishes, while retaining its barbecue core.

  Aftermath

  The fusion positioning became central to the restaurant's identity and later featured in national and regional culinary recognition.

  Source

1. 1Smoke'N Ash BBQen.wikipedia.org