John Brotherton of Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue in Pflugerville dies

A pitmaster and restaurant owner as well known around the state for his generous spirit and community building as his exceptional brisket, John Brotherton died Monday, less than two weeks after suffering a medical event that left him in a coma. His son, Braeden, confirmed the news on the Facebook page of his father’s restaurant, Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue. He was 49.

Sympathy and support flowed on social media for Brotherton, who opened the restaurant in 2017 after starting his career as an intense hobbyist and operator of a barbecue trailer.

LeRoy and Lewis chef and co-owner Evan LeRoy shared a story on Instagram that reflected what many people have said about Brotherton’s friendly and community-minded attitude. Brotherton and LeRoy tied for a people’s choice award at a barbecue throwdown between Houston and Austin cooks in 2017.

“He was more excited for us than he was for himself, and that’s all you really need to know about the man,” wrote LeRoy, who first met Brotherton about a decade ago. “The best and biggest supporter of everyone. He just loved barbecue and the people that made it.”

A native of Liberty, Texas, Brotherton’s first professional barbecue operation was his Hall of Flame BBQ trailer in Pflugerville, where he became renown for his brisket. He co-owned Curly’s Carolina, TX Barbeque in Round Rock for a couple of years before a short hiatus in the barbecue business.

During that time, Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn wrote that Brotherton visited each of the magazine’s Top 50 barbecue restaurants from successive lists. Brotherton told Vaughn that time reinvigorated his passion for cooking.

After some wildly successful pop-ups, he partnered with Kelly Gerry’s of Black Iron Eats, serving inventive barbecue sandwiches like brisket banh mi and a Texas Rueben, later adding meats by the pounds and changing the name of the barbecue business. The efforts of Brotherton and his team, which include sausage master Bill Dumas, landed the restaurant a spot on Texas Monthly’s best new barbecue restaurants in 2019 and the Top 50 in 2021.

Dumas, known for his transcendent treatment of sausages, befriended Brotherton while running the food truck at Smokey Denmark in East Austin and was impressed by his congeniality and willingness to share his wealth of knowledge.

Brotherton eventually brought Dumas in to run the sausage program at the Pflugerville restaurant, after staying in touch with Dumas during his stint at Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew.

Dumas said from the time he met Brotherton, he had always been impressed by the barbecue master’s interest in building community and encouraging people who might otherwise be considered competition.

“In the very competitive world of barbecue, he sought unification of the barbecue industry,” Dumas said. “Through his support, be it physical or verbal or information, his mission in life was to unite this barbecue community together. If we’re all working separately we’re working against one another. If we’re unified, we can do amazing things. He drew us all together. And through this loss he’s drawing us all together even more.”

Brotherton suffered an undisclosed medical event on Jan. 4, which led his friend Russell Roegels of Roegels Barbecue in Houston to establish a GoFundMe page to help the Brotherton family. The post from Roegels, and the comments and outpouring of donations (currently the site has raised more than $100,000), displayed the type of love that people across the barbecue world feel for Brotherton.

“He's probably been in your restaurant, posted a picture of the food, the people who made it, and shared about his great experience. He truly just wants everyone to succeed in their endeavors and has tried to do whatever he can to help them,” wrote Roegels Barbecue owner Russel Roegels when he established the GoFundMe.

In his post announcing his father’s passing, Braeden asked for privacy during their grieving and stated that the restaurant would continue on under the guidance of Dumas, pitmaster Bobby Holley and general manager Julia Daycock, whom Brotherton made part owners in December.

“My dad was the kindest, funniest, most generous, and most dependable person I’ve ever known, but I’m sure you all know that firsthand from your own interactions with him,” Braeden Brotherton wrote on Facebook in confirming his father’s passing. “You all know how passionate about his family and his craft he was. I could pour my heart out into this post for you all, but you knew him too. Every person who met him seems to have a story about how kind he was. Some of my own personal friends have stories about him I never even knew. He is my hero, my inspiration, my everything.”

Dumas said Brotherton's Black Iron BBQ will continue operating as usual, the way its founder would want, ensuring that the restaurant was a physical manifestation of the beloved pitmaster's legacy.

Brotherton is survived by his wife, Brenda, and son, Braeden. Service information has not yet been made available.

This is a developing story.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: John Brotherton of Brotherton's Black Iron Barbecue dies