Dallas Green Arrested!

UPDATE: Dallas Green speaks! Well, not to the BBQ Snob, but there's a new story in Saturday's Star Telegram where Mr. Green tells his side of the Cowboys BBQ saga. It seems that Mr. Green is the one who feels wronged in the situation, and claims that he is owed a pile of money by the Gabricks. More interesting is the possible beginnings of a North Texas BBQ fued not seen since Lockhart in 1998. Dallas Green plans to open his very own joint on the other side of Ft. Worth in tiny Hudson Oaks by June 1. While these two joints are in existence, they will no doubt be linked, and you can bet the BBQ Snob will be headed to Hudson Oaks in June.

DEVELOPING STORY: From a local news website - "DALLAS GREEN, Colleyville PD - Unlawful Carrying Weapon on Alcohol Premises. Charged at 8:13 PM on 4/03/09 by Officer Amy Van Zandt. Tarrant County Appearance Bond; released at 11:35 AM on 4/04/09."

You might be wondering how exactly the snippet above applies to a blog about Texas BBQ. Two months ago I wouldn't have paid any attention to this, but the oddities that have ensued since then have peaked my interest significantly.

Six short weeks ago, I read about a new BBQ joint that had just opened in Colleyville called Cowboys BBQ & Rib Co. From reading the preview articles, it seemed that a competition winning Texas BBQ legend named Dallas Green had offered his name and barbecue expertise to a local proprietor named Mark Gabrick. As part of my 'cue eating duties I decided to go try it out and get a preliminary review. Just one day after reporting my mediocre findings, a mysterious comment from "Anonymous" was posted on the review that read "I am sure this Dallas Green is the same Dallas Green that was convicted of Fraud in Sangamon County, Illinois. He did the same thing there to a family, said he would help a person open a new business and then did not do what he said he would do and did not have the necessary experience to help the owner. The owner had to go to court and there is over a $400,000 judgment for Fraud against him in Sangamon County." However intriguing the claim, I didn't pay much attention to what I thought was some fool trying to cause trouble by using my blog as a vehicle for his far away grudge.

Later that week, the court records of the case referenced above were forwarded to me by the jilted party in Springfield, Illinois. A summary of these court documents shows that Dallas Green entered into a business relationship with ZAM Enterprises in Springfield, Illinois in November of 1998. This relationship quickly soured, and Dallas Green was sued by ZAM for fraud. He was essentially sued for breach of contract. More specifically, the "Defendant misrepresented to Plaintiff and concealed from Plaintiff material facts relating to Defendant's prior experience and ability to perform the promises made in the contract entered into between the Parties." He was then found guilty in 2003, and Mr. Green was asked to pay the defendant more than $400,000 for his troubles.

Fast-forward six weeks from my initial visit, and I was reading the review of Cowboys in the Star Telegram which reminded me that I needed to head back out to Colleyville for a second try now that the kinks had probably been worked out. Considering that reviews as late as March 26th mentioned Dallas Green's involvement with the restaurant, I didn't expect to see Dallas Green's name now missing from the signage when I arrived at Cowboys on April 5th.

February 2009 photo with "Great Food by Dallas Green"


April 2009 photo sans Dallas Green's name


Also gone were all of the newspaper clippings of Dallas Green's BBQ conquests that had previously decorated the walls. I wrote an update to my previous report but remained confused about Dallas Green's recent departure. As I perused a local website, I found that Cowboys had not only had the unfortunate occurrence of a recent theft, but I also found a brief police report about Mr. Green's arrest (quoted above) that showed him being arrested at Cowboys BBQ on April 3rd, just two days before my most recent visit. The Colleyville Police Department provided that a call was placed to the police on April 3rd where a complainant stated that Dallas Green was on his way to Cowboys to cause some trouble. A squad car was sent, and Mr. Green was arrested for carrying a weapon into a bar.

The current owner of Cowboys BBQ wishes not to comment on the subject, and Dallas Green is also mum, but there can no doubt be a connection to his recent arrest and the removal of his name and associated paraphernalia. It is unknown if the there will be a name change to the establishment considering the current owner's affinity for the name Hogfather, but I do know that a less pricey lunch menu has already been implemented. If you'd like to help fill those newly empty walls, you can answer Mr. Gabrick's call to interested artists on Craigslist.

- BBQ Snob

A few more details can be found in today's article in the Star Telegram.