After a Devastating Fire, Baby Back Shak in Dallas Is Back with Barbecue | Eater Dallas
In February 2024 a nearly catastrophic fire erupted; all employees were inside when owner Clarence Cohens noticed the smoke was dark: "I thought my neighbor was on fire," he says. "But when I came outside to look at his building, I could see that the smoke was coming off my building." He ran back inside to evacuate staff, and more than 60 firefighters responded; Cohens credits their quick response with saving his business, but when the fire died the kitchen was "open to the sky" and the smoker’s 25-year-old vent hood had what he calls a "heart attack." Only the roof burned, but smoke damaged furniture and priceless collectibles, and it took four months to rebuild. "When minority businesses burn down, it’s hard to get back," he says. "No matter how much insurance you have, it’s still a challenge to get back in compliance and play the game again." The local Cedars community rallied — neighbors and the city donated new furniture; Chef Katherine Clapner organized a fundraiser — and Cohens says he was "deeply moved." Reopened refreshed and repainted, he reflects: "Good things happen to those who wait, pray, and stay faithful to their dreams," Cohen says. His pitmaster journey began in Memphis under his mother, the family's first pitmaster: "None of the guys were cooking in my family until my mom hooked me up. That’s where I got my knowledge of smoking meats," he says. He grew up during the 1960s when Civil Rights leaders visited Memphis churches and members of the community, including his mother, would cook for them, inspiring discipline and positive thinking. Aspiring to be Dallas’s Memphis-style barbecue king, he turned barbecue into a sport; the restaurant’s trophy room is filled with framed posters, jerseys, and autographs from former Dallas athletes including football Hall of Famer Charles Haley, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, and Warren Moon. "I believe in winning, too, at my game," he says. "It’s not [playing] basketball or football or golf — it’s about feeding people. Every day, I have customers coming in as fans. This is my arena." Having recently celebrated his 70th birthday, he boasts: "I rise above everybody," he says with his trademark swagger. "I am one of those veterans — an OG of the pit. A real gangster who doesn’t cut any corners." Ribs are a highlight: he marinates his fall-off-the-bone ribs overnight before smoking them over pecan wood. Initially intent only on selling ribs and meat, family urged him to add sides, and the menu now includes tangy potato salad, buttered corn, loaded baked potatoes, barbecue chili-style beans, and a one-of-a-kind beans served ranch-style "mixed with red bell pepper, yellow onion, barbecue sauce, ketchup, and five pounds of ground chuck." Brisket arrived later after his 2014 appearance on Jon Taffer’s Hungry Investors in the "Brisket Beatdown" episode: "I didn’t want to be no brisket guy, but this Jon Taffer wanted me to be the king of barbecue, and he wanted me to 'beat the brisket,'" Cohen says. His brisket preparation is meticulous: he washes each brisket slab and bathes them in Worcestershire sauce before marinating the beef at room temperature for eight hours, then coats it in his trademarked rub — a proprietary blend influenced by his mother’s barbecue — and cooks it at low temperature through the night until early morning. "It won’t have a touch of hardness, no char on it, but it will be tender and moist all the way through," he says. When he first bought the building the roof was on the floor; over three decades he’s watched the Cedars transform from a collection of empty buildings to a slowly developing neighborhood with artist lofts, the infamous dive bar Lee Harvey’s, and the flagship Alamo Drafthouse. The restaurant — never empty and leaving the neighborhood smelling "sweet and heady like barbecue" — will mark a 30th anniversary this October, and he hopes to give back to the "30 years of customers": "You can’t beat referrals — people saying they’ve been here before, that it was good and to check them out," he says. Newspaper clippings line the wall: "It’s everything that’s ever been printed about me," he says. "I do believe I have a place in this business," he adds, and "It feels good to be respected among the great ones." He supports local competitors and believes "Black barbecue can be global." He plans to keep smoking meats early for the community he says he wanted "a barbecue restaurant that all could enjoy": "When we all sit in a room together, we’re not fighting; we’re enjoying food." - Kristina Valdez
