Monte Neil was in fifth grade when his father, Glenn, opened WeekEnds BBQ in 2007 in Plainview, 45 minutes north of Lubbock. “When we started it, we didn’t know the first thing in the world about barbecue,” Neil said. “It was just something to do on the weekends,” he added, hence the name. His father is now semiretired, and Neil runs the joint, which moved to the other side of town in February. He added a unique smoker to the new pit room and tweaked the recipes. Now he has a barbecue gem on his hands.
After his college days at Texas A&M University, “I didn’t want to move back to West Texas,” Neil said. He took a sales job in Houston after graduation and thought it would be long-term. One Friday, none of his contractor customers came to pick up their material orders. When they all arrived first thing Monday morning, they told him Friday had been a bluebird day—sunny with no clouds—so they went fishing. “I realized real quick I was on the wrong side of the eight-to-five job deal,” he said. Shortly after, his dad asked him to come back home and help with the family business. “When the opportunity came to move back here and work for myself and take the reins of the family business,” Neil said, he couldn’t resist.
Glenn had already purchased the building that would be the future home of the barbecue joint when his son arrived back in Plainview, in 2021. Renovating the former tanning salon “ended up being a way bigger project than any of us ever imagined it would be,” Neil said. The family did most of the work themselves, and the project took five years. That included a pit room and a smoker Neil designed for it. He looked to local machine shop I.M.S., which fabricates equipment for beef-processing facilities, to build the behemoth that features two rotisseries in one massive steel box.
The original location for WeekEnds BBQ was takeout only, while this new one has a large dining room and plenty of outdoor seating. A few quirks from the old menu remain, such as the large jalapeño sausage that looks more like summer sausage than a typical smoked link. Instead, I’d recommend the green-chile-and-cheese sausage. It’s made in-house and is incredibly juicy. The melted Oaxaca cheese, or quesillo, oozes out when you snap the casing.
The team smokes whole briskets and separates them after cooking. The fatty brisket becomes chopped beef. If you order sliced brisket, it will come from the flat unless you specify. I learned that the hard way, and the lean slices were on the dry side with poor bark. They were the weakest part of my barbecue tray, but thankfully there was plenty more to like.
Neil and pitmaster Peter Morales cube pork belly and smoke the pieces for candied pork belly burnt ends. They’re seasoned with a rub heavy in brown sugar and chili powder, then coated with a bourbon maple glaze once the bark is set. The sweet coating creates a pleasantly chewy exterior around the tender chunks of smoky pork. They were incredible. Neil saves the sugar until the end on the spare ribs. A light layer of salt and pepper goes onto the racks that gather enough of the oak smoke to get a deep red bark. Neil adds a sweet rub onto the hot ribs before wrapping them in foil, and it results in the perfect flavor balance of sweet, salt, smoke, and pork.
Smoked chicken leg quarters proved challenging to keep moist for several hours, so Neil switched to boneless, skinless chicken thighs shortly after opening the new location. They’re aptly seasoned and hold moisture well.
“Mac and cheese is probably the most challenging barbecue side,” Neil said. The pasta gets mushy as it soaks up the cheese sauce for hours on a steam table. Here, the cooks keep the pasta and the cheese sauce separate until an order comes in. Simply seasoned pinto beans simmer overnight until tender, and the cabbage for the crunchy slaw is hand chopped every morning. The creamed corn gets a healthy dose of green chiles, which Neil prefers over jalapeños. “We’re in West Texas,” he said. “If you’re gonna use peppers, we’re gonna use green chiles up here.”
Neil has been happy with how locals have responded to all the updates. It’s no wonder, given the quality of barbecue he’s producing at WeekEnds. It’s the biggest bright spot in the Panhandle barbecue scene since Rejino Barbecue (a 2021 top fifty BBQ joint, also in a new building) opened in 2018.
Neil has no second thoughts about moving back home. “I can get really involved in the community,” he said; he has joined many organizations since he returned. He also met his wife, Shelby, in town, and they got married this year. The biggest challenge he faced in taking over the business has been building, training, and managing a staff that is much larger than the one his dad worked with at the old location. It still beats the sales job he left in Houston. “I’m so thankful I came back,” he said, and barbecue lovers in Plainview should be too.
WeekEnds BBQ
2206 W. Fifth, Plainview
Phone: 806-292-1423
Hours: Wednesday–Saturday 11–8, Sunday 11–5
Pitmasters: Glenn and Monte Neil, and Peter Morales
Method: Oak in an offset smoker
Year opened: 2007
