Business Details
About
Restaurant Delivery ServiceBarbecue RestaurantRestaurant
On June 23, 1958, Tony Vargas Sr., along with his wife Lydia and children opened Tony’s the Pit Bar-B-Q for business. The family ran the restaurant from the original location at 1829 Magoffin until 1969, when it moved to it’s the current location at 1700 Myrtle Ave. Tony Jr. ran the business from 1970 until 1995 when he retired and he is currently employed with El Paso Community College as tenured faculty. Grandson Bobby operated the restaurant until late 1999.
The management of Tony’s the Pit Bar-B-Q is under the leadership of Christina Vargas, granddaughter of founder, Tony Vargas Sr.
Christina Vargas has been managing the business since 1999. She has learned every aspect of the business from marinating the meat to slicing it for the customer’s personalized sandwiches like her grandfather, father and brother have done. Under her management there has been a steady growth in sales despite the economy and exodus of downtown businesses.
Christina’s dedication to quality and preservation of a family tradition welcomes you to come and visit her and taste Tony’s Bar-B-Q as it has been prepared and cooked for over 50 years.
Location
Hours
Reviews
4.6
648 reviews
5 stars
515
4 stars
75
3 stars
30
2 stars9
1 star
19
- MMMary MelendezOct 2, 20255.0Love this bbq place and people are really nice and helpful. They are friendly and the brisket sandwiches are good. Wish the potato salad was a little bit bigger but it’s good.
- SBScott BourneSep 27, 20255.0BBQ is a very personal thing for a lot of people - Often, it's hard to get a consensus on what's good. As a dedicated, horizontally challenged food reviewer - I KNOW BBQ and this is the best I've had west of Kansas City. First off it's a family business that's been around since the 1950s. Secondly, the menu is basic and offers real BBQ. At lunch, when I went, a sandwich seemed to make sense. Then a lovely, kind, and patient woman named Marina was helpful in explaining the menu and how things worked. She was patient and very engaged in what she was doing. She wanted me to have a good experience. When an employee is that sold out for her boss, you know you are in for a treat. My secret way to test BBQ is to get ham or turkey. I picked the ham at Tony's and it was fresh, cut off the bone (not lunch meat) and the portion was generous. It was served on a moist, hot, soft and tasty bun with pickles and mustard. BBQ sauce is optional and available for patrons to use as they see fit. I am actually not a big BBQ sauce fan but I have studied it and tasted it all over the country. I added some BBQ sauce to the ham sandwich and was immediately taken with it's rich, smokey flavor - it's not super sweet like store-bought sauce and according to Marina it's a house speciality. I also tried the macaroni and potato salads because these are my favorite sides at a BBQ joint. Sadly, the mac salad was not to my liking but the potato salad - wow - I have very high standards when it comes to potato salad and this was the best I've had in years. In subsequent visits (yes there will be subsequent visits) I will order two potato salads. I got a soft drink and while I don't remember the price it was very reasonable. It's not a fancy place to eat but I like the BBQ joint vibe. There was plenty of street parking and about 10 spots in their parking lot. It's a great downtown location and I'd say I was super happy with the experience.
- MMMAXSep 25, 20255.0Чудесный ресторан, взял 2 мяса и 2 сайда, волшебный вкус, много соусов
- SDSign Man By Sign DesignSep 23, 20255.0I can’t believe that I have had my sign Shop Sign Design on Texas Street since 2015 and I’ve only been to lunch here three times. What the what is my problem? I’ll be back soon often and soon. Best food ever old school love it. I’m an old fool. who loves old school. #mayorforMowad
- SBSteven BrendtSep 22, 20255.0The brisket was good, all around was great. My meal was super, and the price great. Very nice amount of food.