view of Stanley's bar. Stanley's was recognized in Texas Monthly as one of the top 50 barbecue joints in Texas. 

Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler has extended its streak, making it onto Texas Monthly’s top 50 best barbecue joints for the fifth consecutive time.

Barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn and 35 taste testers traveled to 411 Texas barbecue restaurants to determine this year’s list. The magazine releases new rankings every four years. Seeing Stanley’s name on that list once again was exciting, said Tamara Bethancourt, Stanley’s employee relations manager.

“I think for Stanley’s, and not just Stanley’s but Tyler as a whole community, it’s exciting to see us on the list. It’s exciting to see Tyler in magazines,” Bethancourt said.

Over the years Texas barbecue has gotten a whole lot better and Stanley’s barbecue has continued to improve as well, said Daniel Vaughn, Texas Monthly barbecue editor.

“It’s just one of those barbecue places,” Vaughn said. “It’s pretty rare in the fact that it just continues to get better list after list.”

To be chosen as one of the top 50 barbecue joints in Texas boils down to having really strong barbecue, he said. There are things to consider as tie breakers like sides and desserts, but the main focus is a great platter of brisket, ribs, sausage and any other specialty item a place has.

Along with their barbecue, Stanley’s has also continued to improve their environment, making it a fun place to go eat, he added.

“To me, it’s just the most fun place to go eat barbecue in Texas, especially when they’ve got a live show going on,” Vaughn said.

There is a long history behind Stanley’s that makes people proud to work there and to visit, Bethancourt said. Stanley’s was opened in 1960 by J.D. Stanley and taken over in 2006 by Nick and Jen Pencis after Stanley’s death.

Stanley’s is a place that is not just community strong now, but has always been, she said.

People often come in and share stories with the employees about how they visited Stanley’s as a kid, Bethancourt said. Employees are passionate about working at Stanley’s because they are able to get to know customers and their experiences and to form relationships with them.

“Stanley’s is a place that if you want to go somewhere with your family and feel like a part of the family, then this is where you’re gonna go, hands down,” Bethancourt said.

Spencer Carl and Nick Pencis are both pitmasters at Stanley’s and prepare the barbecue with pecan and post oak on offset and wood-fired rotisserie smokers. Some of their popular meats include the “Mother Clucker” smoked chicken sandwich and the baby back ribs, according to Texas Monthly.

Stanley’s is currently working to build a third pit house to house two 1,000 gallon custom fabricated offset smokers, Bethancourt said. With the additions, Stanley’s will have two wood fired Oyler’s and two straight pits.

“The bigger we get, the bigger the kitchen gets, the bigger the community gets,” she said.

“Be Kind and Have Fun” is the motto of Stanley’s, which can certainly be seen through all of the staff and the lively atmosphere, according to Texas Monthly.

Along with the top 50, Texas Monthly released an honorable mention list of 50 more barbecue joints. Among these were two East Texas businesses, Bodacious Bar-B-Q in Hallsville and Joseph’s Riverport Barbecue in Jefferson.

This year, honorable mentions were done differently, Vaughn said. Typically it is given to a business that did a specific dish very well, but this year it’s a continuation of the next best 50 barbecue joints in Texas.

To be mentioned as one of the top 100 in Texas is an honor, said Gabriel Ritter, owner of the Bodacious in Hallsville.

“We put in a lot of hours over here,” Ritter said. “We pretty much dedicated our lives to this job so for somebody to take notice, we’re proud of that.”