The Classics is an occasional series that spotlights and celebrates Houston’s oldest bars and restaurants.

The scent of smoked meats, rows of historical photos, businessmen talking, families laughing, and great customer service—it’s what Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Cue is all about. The Houston restaurant is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, and—after changing hands in 2020—has rebranded as Pizzitola’s Heritage Barbecue, to honor its history and significance to the city.

The restaurant opened its doors in 1935 thanks to John and Leila Davis. It was first known as Shepherd Drive BBQ and was located on the corner of Long Street and Shepherd Drive. Segregation was still in place at the time. The couple, who were Black, served their Black customers in the main dining room, and their white customers through the back door. Once segregation ended, the dining room became a unified hub for families, business leaders, and other hungry Houstonians.

John hit a roadblock not too long after. To build out I-10, the government purchased the property where Shepherd Drive BBQ was located. John didn’t want to move too far from his original space, so in 1959, he bought a former lumber yard that was down the street, where Pizzitola’s stands today.

The restaurant didn’t reopen until 1963—it took time for John to build the brick pits by hand (which are still in use). In 1979, Leila passed away, leaving John to tend to the business on his own until his own death just three years later. Their daughter Lois Davis stepped in to lead the day-to-day operations, but in 1983, longtime customer Jerry Pizzitola swooped in and offered to help continue the Davis legacy. To symbolize the new era, he gave it its current name.

“Jerry and his dad had a love for going to barbecue places all over town, and this was their favorite,” says general manager Tim Taylor. “He had been coming here since he was a young boy, and he just developed a love for Shepherd Drive BBQ, so when it became available, he seized the opportunity.”

Pizzitola operated the joint for almost 40 years before deciding to step down as owner in 2020, handing the keys over to Willie Madden and James Maida. The duo worked hard to preserve the previous owners’ legacies and get the business through the COVID-19 pandemic. But Madden died suddenly in 2021, leaving only Maida to run the business. He set out to finish what the two started with the help of Taylor.

To this day, thanks to Pizzitola, every guest is given a warm moist towel to help them clean off the finger-licking-good barbecue. The restaurant still uses the same recipes from the Davis family, although the Pizzitolas also made their mark on the food: Pizzitola’s mom helped behind-the-scenes, perfecting the restaurant’s desserts. You can still find her banana pudding—dubbed Mama Pizzitola’s Famous Banana Pudding—on the menu, as well as her fresh pineapple and coconut cake and Texas chocolate sheet cake.

“Those are untouchables,” Taylor says.

Every dish at Pizzitola’s is cooked in the brick pits in the back (except the banana pudding). These are very special: Taylor says you can’t legally build them anymore. Restaurants are now required to have the firebox outside the building, and Taylor jokes that they’re essentially setting a fire to the restaurant every morning by using their pits. Due to the age of the brick pits, there’s also no thermostat control, no temperature gauges, and no mechanization.

“It’s that pit that allows us to produce the ribs that we sell that are the best ribs in the city,” he says. “Our ribs are the classic rib for the city of Houston.”

Over the last five years, Taylor says they’ve worked to evolve the menu to keep up with the times. This includes the addition of several new plates like the brisket enchiladas, the house grind brisket burger, brisket queso and chips, and the brisket mac and cheese.

“Our customers’ expectations are changing,” Taylor says. “You know, 90 years ago, you could serve brisket and chicken and ribs and sausage and be done. You can’t do that today. You need to have a more varied menu.”

The restaurant remains a fan-favorite among Houstonians and has hosted various prominent figures over the years—including former mayor Sylvester Turner. Taylor says that Turner ate at the restaurant every week for almost 30 years and even had a meal there on the Friday before he died. During Turner’s mayoralty, he declared July 10 as “Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Cue Day.” The restaurant also earned the recognition of Texas Treasure Business by the Texas Historical Commission, an award given to places that have been in continuous for-profit operation for a minimum of 50 years.

Taylor thinks the love from the city is what has helped Pizzitola’s stay in business all these years. Unlike others barbecue joints, where there’s usually cafeteria-style service and a line outside, Pizzitola’s has tables ready to give diners a more classic restaurant experience. Taylor says his staff treats a customer the same way they would treat a guest in their own home. They go the extra mile and even call their regulars if they go a few weeks without seeing them, just to make sure they’re OK. “We have built a unique family between our owners, the customers, and the employees,” he says.

There aren’t many places in Houston that can say they’ve been around before the inner loop was even a thing, and have withstood World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and the Great Depression.

“People have to understand that Houston is not a city full of history,” he says. “We are a touchstone for a lot of people who have a lot of memories in this room. You have to support places like that, because when they’re gone, there won’t be another to come back and take our place.”