Interviewer: Lisa Powell
Location: Offices of Central Texas Barbecue Association, Lamar St, Austin, Texas
This interview was originally produced through a collaborative effort of the American Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin, The Central Texas Barbecue Association, and The Southern Foodways Alliance.
It is shared with Foodways Texas as part of a collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance to document food stories in Texas.
Pat Mares was born in 1951 in Schuyler, Nebraska. After working in food most of her life, Pat and her husband, Luke Zimmermann, opened Ruby’s BBQ in 1988, just north of the University of Texas at Austin campus on the edge of the Hyde Park neighborhood.
From the restaurant’s early days to the present, Ruby’s BBQ has been deeply entwined with the Austin music scene. The presence of Antone’s blues club next door was key to their choice of location; though Antone’s eventually moved downtown, the Ruby’s dining room still keeps blues music playing on the stereo, and their food fuels the performances of many local and touring musicians. Pat and Luke also cater to the diverse neighborhood and university crowds; one of their signatures is their all-natural beef brisket, and they serve chopped beef sandwiches, which are favorites of students on a budget.
