BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION
PROFILE FARGO’S PIT BARBECUE
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MICHELLE WULFSON
Runs in the Family
Fargo’s offers world class barbecue with small town roots
A
sk any local where to find
the best barbecue in Bryan-
College Station, and they’ll
tell you without a doubt, Fargo’s Pit
Barbecue is the best in town.
“I love barbecue, I get to come
here and I can have the first of
everything before anybody else gets
here,” Fargo’s Pit Barbecue co-owner
Belender Wells said, referring to
herself as a “rib person,” her favorite
item being the beef ribs.
“When we first opened, we
couldn’t sell a beef rib – that is my
favorite, it’s like a roast on the bone,”
Wells said.
Barbecue runs in the Wells family,
the Bryan restaurant owner grew up
in San Diego where her father owned
a barbecue restaurant named Fargo’s
Hickory Smoked.
“I’m second generation of the
Wells’ family in the barbecue business,
and my son will be third,” Wells said.
With her father’s blessing, Wells
stole the name to create Fargo’s Pit
Barbecue in Bryan with long-time
friend and pit master Alan Caldwell.
“(Caldwell) used to barbecue all
the time and we would end up calling
family and friends to come get some
– I had nowhere to put that meat,”
Wells added with a laugh. “I thought,
“since you like to do it so much and
you’re good at it, why don’t we just put
our heads together?’ It really started
because he was cooking too much
meat in the backyard and we were
giving it away.”
20
T H E T E X A S F O O D IE
Owners Alan and Belender Wells
“I’m second generation of the
Wells’ family in the barbecue
business, and my son will be
third.”
Fargo’s Pit Barbecue opened nearly
20 years ago as an “itty-bitty” take-out-
only location before moving to their
“big” dine-in restaurant that was only
half the size of their current location.
Now, the business has gone
from making $75 a day and $500 on
weekends to selling out daily and has
been named one of Texas Monthly’s
“50 Best BBQ Joints in the World.”
“We had a product, the rib tips,
which are boneless pieces of pork, and
in the beginning days, we couldn’t give
them away,” Wells said, now the rib
tips are only sold twice a week and sell
out immediately.
Fargo’s customers are loyal,
knowing what days certain meats are
served, and many calling each morning
before the restaurant even opens to
place their orders for the day.
Wells talks new customers through