Dayne's Craft Barbecue Plans a New Brick and Mortar Home in Aledo

Although we're journalists and, therefore, sublimely unbiased, Dayne's Craft Barbecue in Fort Worth holds a slightly special place in our calloused food-writer hearts. In 2018, we heard about Dayne Weaver, who was cooking barbecue at a series of underground pop-ups and had built a modest Instagram following by doing so. And one hot summer Saturday, we paid him a visit to try his barbecue and chat him up. 

We sat in Weaver's driveway that day and partook of his succulent brisket and pulled pork and learned about his devotion to barbecue. It was pretty obvious that he was talented with the smoker, but he knew he could be better and grow his passion into a business. The next year, Weaver, along with his soon-to-be-wife, Ashley, took their business the next step with a standing gig at Lola's Trailer Park. They added more smokers, learned to make their own sausage and created a smash burger we came to love. In 2021 Dayne's was named by Texas Monthly as one of the state's 50 best barbecue joints.

Last year, Dayne's announced plans for a brick-and-mortar spot on Camp Bowie Boulevard in the Westland area of Fort Worth. Weaver found a partner, Philip Murrin, to work with on the restaurant and moved the smoker and operations next door while build-out was underway. The original plan was to complete the restaurant and open by the end of 2022.

Alas, delays and money problems have kept the restaurant from opening, so Dayne's has charted a new course just a little bit west in Aledo. Late last Friday, Dayne's announced plans for a new restaurant at 100 N. Front St. in Aledo, about 10 minutes west of the current location.

“It’s just going to take way more time and money than either Philip or Dayne and I realized to get our restaurant up and running,” Ashley said via a press release. “As much as we love both the building and the Murrins, we received an incredible opportunity to open within the next couple of months in a location in Aledo that makes sense for us and our crew.”

For now, Dayne's will continue to operate out of the Camp Bowie location while the finish-out takes place in Aledo, but the current plan is to have the new restaurant open by the fall. In addition to a 2,300-square-foot restaurant, the new space also has a 1,000-square-foot patio and a pit room that will hold Dayne's trio of 1,000-gallon offset smokers.
Since its beginnings, Dayne's has used a commissary kitchen for nearly everything that doesn't come from a smoker. With a full kitchen finally available at the new restaurant, Weaver is delighted by the possibilities.

“We’re extremely excited to have a full kitchen with plenty of accommodations to do a lot of cool, fun dishes that we’ve always wanted to do but never had the space,” he says. “This bigger space will allow us to cook more food and serve more people at a faster rate.”

When the doors finally open at the new space, Dayne's will keep the same lunch hours and add Wednesday to the days they're currently open. Eventually, the Weavers hope to add breakfast and dinner service when they're staffed up and settled in. And while Aledo is a bit of a haul from Dallas, we're excited to check out the new Dayne's space when it opens. The Weavers put out some amazing barbecue as it is, but it tastes a little bit better having watched all of their hard work to make their dream a reality.