Two of Austin's most cherished hangouts — Uptown Sports Club and Meanwhile Brewing Co. — are teaming up for a special barbecue dinner series featuring four accomplished local chefs.
The Backyard BBQ Summer Series was created to provide casual, community-focused experiences evoking the nostalgia of the "classic summer shindig," according to a release. Each of the four ticketed events will feature special off-menu bites from a different Austin chef. Uptown Sports Club will round out the main dining options, while Bésame and Tiny Pies whip up all the dessert offerings. All events will be accompanied by live music performances from local bands.
The events, which will each be held from 6:30-9 pm, will rotate between locations, with the first dinner located at Meanwhile Brewing on Friday, August 2. Featured chefs that will be leading the culinary experiences, in order, are: Leroy and Lewis Barbecue pitmaster Evan Leroy; Huckleberry's Davis Turner; Franklin Barbecue and Uptown Sports Club founding pitmaster Aaron Franklin; and L'Oca d'Oro and Bambino executive chef Fiore Tedesco.
“Community is everything to us at Uptown, and we’re so excited to partner with our friends at Meanwhile Brewing Co. and such talented chefs to bring this backyard barbecue series to life,” said Uptown Sports Club co-owner Aaron Franklin in the release. “We just want to bring Austinites closer together through good food, good beer and good music, and we can’t wait to do just that.”
In celebration of the series, Meanwhile will release a limited canned edition of their Custom Lager, a brew that has been an Uptown Sports Club exclusive beer available on-draft since the restaurant first opened in March 2023.
Meanwhile's Custom Lager, made exclusively for Uptown Sports Club, will be released in limited edition cans at the events.Photo by Kim Light Pearson
“We’ve always wanted to make Meanwhile Brewing Co. a space where the community can come together to relax and enjoy each other’s company, and we’re lucky to share that sentiment with Uptown Sports Club,” said Meanwhile founder Will Jaquiss. “We're excited to serve Custom Lager, our custom-made beer created with Uptown Sports and summertime in mind, alongside some great food created by really talented chefs."
The full schedule of events is as follows:
- August 2 at Meanwhile Brewing Co. – Evan Leroy of Leroy & Lewis Barbecue
- August 23 at Uptown Sports Club – Davis Turner of Huckleberry
- September 6 at Meanwhile Brewing Co. – Aaron Franklin of Uptown Sports Club and Franklin Barbecue
- September 20 at Uptown Sports Club – Chef Fiore Tedesco of Bambino and L’Oca d’Oro
