Zavala’s Barbecue, a pint-sized restaurant in Grand Prairie where most customers sit out front at picnic tables, is selling three spice rubs in 593 Walmarts in Texas.
The beef rub (for brisket), fajita rub (for chicken or steak) and pork rub (for pulled pork and pork ribs) are now available in any Texas Walmart for $8.98 each.
The effort was a nearly one-year process, all part of co-owner Joe Zavala’s steady and impressive rise as a notable pitmaster in Texas since his restaurant opened in 2019. Zavala’s was named among Texas Monthly’s top 50 best barbecue joints in the state — a list that included 11 restaurants in North Texas.
Zavala’s became a favorite among D-FW barbecue fanatics in the know from nearly its inception. Its “Texican” menu includes smoked 44 Farms brisket, brisket boudin, tortillas, spicy slaw and cheddar-jalapeño hominy. The Sloppy Juan is a mess of pork and brisket inside a tortilla that tastes great left over, as Texas Monthly writer José Ralat says. That’s the way to do it if you’ve ordered too much barbecue. And you probably will.
The Zavala family — Joe, his wife Christan, and their son who will soon turn 4 — is growing its business steadily and has plans to open a new coffee shop behind the barbecue joint. (They already sell coffee Tuesdays through Fridays, inside the existing barbecue joint.)
Selling spice rubs in Walmart might make them some extra money, but it’ll also plant the Zavala’s name in a major retail outlet across the Lone Star State.
“Because of this, we’re making more YouTube videos and showing people how to use what we use, at their house,” Zavala says.
And if people buy the rub, is he worried that customers may not come to his restaurant? Nah.
“You can go to YouTube right now and Google ‘how to make a brisket’ and you can get 90% there. It’s all about that last 10%,” he says. Zavala teaches barbecue classes. And he encourages people who love barbecue to try smoking at home, like he did. Maybe his spice rubs will help.
“I started off cooking in my backyard. I didn’t have culinary experience,” he says. “I just practiced, practiced, practiced.”
Customers will still pull up at Zavala’s, in part because of the charismatic guy whose name is on the building. Zavala still has a full-time job at a software company. And not long after his restaurant opened, he was diagnosed with a form of cancer called multiple myeloma and underwent treatment during the coronavirus pandemic. He’s now in remission.
On busy days at the restaurant, Zavala is buzzing around the barbecue joint, clearing tables and shaking hands with newcomers who want a photo. The spice rubs at Walmart are there for folks who want to try to replicate the food this restaurant makes so well.
Zavala’s is at 421 W. Main St., Grand Prairie. Open Tuesday through Friday from 6-11 a.m. for breakfast tacos and coffee only. Barbecue served Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
