Wood Shop BBQ sits on S. Jackson Street in the Central District, its tagline summing up the whole project: homesick for Kansas, inspired by Texas, found in Seattle. It started as a food truck in 2014 before becoming a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2016.
Owners Matt Davis and James Barrington built it together. Davis grew up on Kansas barbecue and spent a decade turning a serious smoking hobby into something bigger; Barrington's roots are in Texas, and he'd already opened Seattle's first food truck, Hallava Falafel, before teaming up with Davis.
The kitchen runs on stick-burner offset smokers — wood only, no gas or electricity — using imported hickory from the Ozark Mountains and post oak from Texas. The beef comes from a Washington supplier out of Pasco that the team sources with the same attention to detail as the wood itself.
The Infatuation scored it 8.4/10, and locally it's built a reputation for authentic Texas-style smoked meat, generous portions, and filling a gap Seattle's barbecue scene didn't really have covered before it opened.
Owners Matt Davis and James Barrington built it together. Davis grew up on Kansas barbecue and spent a decade turning a serious smoking hobby into something bigger; Barrington's roots are in Texas, and he'd already opened Seattle's first food truck, Hallava Falafel, before teaming up with Davis.
The kitchen runs on stick-burner offset smokers — wood only, no gas or electricity — using imported hickory from the Ozark Mountains and post oak from Texas. The beef comes from a Washington supplier out of Pasco that the team sources with the same attention to detail as the wood itself.
The Infatuation scored it 8.4/10, and locally it's built a reputation for authentic Texas-style smoked meat, generous portions, and filling a gap Seattle's barbecue scene didn't really have covered before it opened.