It’s one of Fresno’s most popular bbq spots. Mega Texas owner tells us why in Q&A
Judging by the long line each day, Mega Texas Barbeque, once in a gas station and now in its own space, could be the most popular BBQ place in Fresno. They’re open just 3-4 hours a day, because they often can’t cook enough to keep up with demand.
Smoked and slow cooked by co-owner Anthony Vallejo and other pitmasters, Mega Texas serves brisket, ribs, bacon-wrapped chicken “lollipop” drumsticks, as well as tri-tip, pulled pork, chicken thighs, pork belly and beef sausages.
On any given day, they might go through 22 briskets (each weighing 12-16 pounds) and at least 30 racks of ribs, estimates Greg Vallejo, a cousin to Anthony and one of the pitmasters. The restaurant is at 3598 E Butler Ave, in Fresno.
We caught up with Anthony Vallejo, who is co-owner with wife Tasha, and Greg Vallejo to talk about the operation. Questions and answers were lightly edited for clarity.
Anthony Vallejo
Q. So I see a line out the door, and you run out of stuff, and you’re cranking over here. What’s the secret to success?
A: It’s things that we like. It’s a lot of experience. We went and ate at more barbecue places than you could probably think of. And we take a little bit of what they do and bring it back to an attitude of what we do. We’re just influenced.
I was really influenced by the time I spent in Texas. We just continue to adapt and evolve. Everyday, we’re trying to put out our best product. And I think the customers can see it, they taste it, and they want to come back, and they want to come back and have that experience again.
Q. And what’s special about Fresno and food, because there is something?
A: The variety that you can get here in Fresno. We’re one type of barbecue. There’s probably at least six or seven other types of barbecue that you can get. And that’s one thing that’s really cool. I’ve seen so much barbecue since I started doing it, pop up and start growing.
The growth of barbecue is great. I think it’s great for whatever barbecue you do to get people talking, and then they’re going to want to go and try it, not just what we do, but what everybody else is doing here around town.
Greg Vallejo
Q. So what’s the secret to the popularity of the products here?
A: A lot of love gets put into it. We like what we do, so we put a lot of hours in and attention to details, and we make sure everything’s right.
Q. What’s the most popular dish, and how much do you produce a day?
A: Brisket is by far the number one seller. That’s what we sell the most. We go through anywhere from 16 to 22 briskets a day, and that’s 12 to 16 pound briskets. And then we sell ribs. It’s probably the second most popular. We sell at least 30 racks of ribs a day, within four hours.
Q. That’s a lot?
A: Yeah, that’s quite a bit. Within four hours, 30 racks ribs, quite often. Well, there’s a line out the door, but you also run out of things, almost every single day. We start running out about 1:30 pm, but we never run out completely out of food. People get discouraged, and they don’t come later. But we always have food. It’s just certain things will start to run out.
Some of the things that we make less of, like chicken lollipops, stuff like that. We don’t make a lot of them. We’ll start running out of those things. And ribs. Sometimes, people will come in and buy, like, two, three racks at a time. And so we can’t, we can’t produce enough of those sometimes. So that’s what runs out
Q. Any secrets to barbecuing that you hold back, or you want to tell?
A: There’s no real secret. It’s just a lot of practice. You know, we grew up barbecuing our entire lives. I actually went to culinary school. My cousin just started for the love of barbecue, and we grew up, like I said, with our dads barbecuing our entire lives. And so that’s part of why we love barbecue because that’s something we did as a family, our entire lives growing up. So that’s why we put so much into it, because we enjoyed it growing up. I enjoyed it so much, I actually went to culinary school, and I was classically trained. I actually got out of the restaurant business. I’m only back because my cousin needs a little bit of help.
Q. Why is it called Mega Texas?
A: My cousin (Vallejo), so we called him Mega. We’ve called him Mega for a long time. Well, when he moved to Texas, some of his friends started calling him Mega Texas. So that’s why it kind of stuck.
This story was originally published January 7, 2026 at 12:50 PM.
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