A new barbecue restaurant that mixes Texas tradition with global flavors is preparing to open in downtown Richardson. Sire & Sons Smokehouse will move into the former Jasmine Café space at 107 E. Main St. in December.
The restaurant is the work of pitmaster and chef Terrance Hill and entrepreneur Huzaifah Ali, two business partners from different backgrounds who share a passion for food.
Hill is a Dallas native who learned to smoke barbecue as a boy from his father and uncles, who had in turn learned from a grandfather Hill never met. The family regularly cooked in their backyard for neighborhood and church events. He later trained at Le Cordon Bleu and Johnson & Wales, and sharpened his skills at Lockhart Smokehouse in Plano. After opening Blu's Barbecue in North Dallas, he kept teaching and catering.
Ali grew up in a family of restaurateurs connected to several Dallas-area businesses, including The Port of Peri Peri in Plano and Irving. He also helps manage Jimmy's Burger and Grill in Plano.
The two met in 2019 through a mutual vendor and began discussing a halal barbecue restaurant. The pandemic pushed back their plans by a few years, though they say their vision held. "We started talking about opening a halal smokehouse, which wasn't really a concept heard of in Dallas at the time," Ali says. After catering jobs and trial pop-ups, he says the response was incredible. The business originally operated as 225, a nod to the temperature used for low-and-slow barbecue, before it was renamed Sire & Sons in honor of their heritages and the men in their families who taught them to cook.
The menu will be entirely halal, meaning the meat is raised and butchered under harm-minimizing Islamic guidelines. Though rooted in Islamic tradition, such meat is increasingly popular with secular and non-Muslim diners. Hill says the food will remain traditionally Texan with a Southern influence. "Our goal is to stay authentic to Texas barbecue and Southern cuisine while adhering strictly to halal methods," he says.
Diners can expect brisket, lamb, chicken, turkey, pastrami and sausages, along with burgers and nachos. Sides include five-cheese mac and cheese, potato salad and West African jollof rice. Warm naan will stand in for the sliced white bread usually served with barbecue. The owners say working with culinary professionals from places such as Morocco and Pakistan has shaped their spices and flavors.
Desserts will include a banana pudding made with pound cake rather than vanilla wafers, and a peach cobbler dump cake. The restaurant is also partnering with local Sonshine Bakery for extra sweets, among them banana bread, Ali's personal favorite.
The 3,200-square-foot space will seat about 70 people. Rather than a rustic barbecue joint look, the interior will have modern styling, natural light and an outdoor patio. Hours will be 11 am to 8:30 pm Wednesday and Thursday, 11 am to 11 pm Friday and Saturday, and 10 am to 6 pm Sunday. A Sunday brunch menu is in development and is expected to debut soon.
