Rooster's Texas Style Bar-B-Que on 12th Avenue is no more. Specializing in Texas-style beef brisket, it was the Nashville restaurant project of "Rooster" Beane. (You may know him as the brother of another barbecue luminary, Aubrey "Judge" Bean. Yes, they spell their last name differently.)
Rooster's, which opened in 2010, filled the space at 123 12th Ave. N. across from 12th & Porter in the neighborhood that has come to be known as the North Gulch.
To add to the confusion, the 123 12th Ave. N. address previously held one of the incarnations of Aubrey's original barbecue restaurant, Judge Bean's Bar-B-Que. Best I can tell, Aubrey continues to preside over The Judge's Vinegarroon on Church Street, his most recent palace of smoky meat and cold beer.
Carrington Fox visited Rooster's in 2011 and liked it, though they were fresh out of calf fries. I was there when Adam Richman filmed a Man v. Food Nation challenge at Rooster's, as the LoCash Cowboys attempted to conquer The Roost, a platter replete with a 72-ounce sirloin, a large baked potato, two slices of Texas toast and a big salad.
I haven't been able to secure any details on the closing, but it appears that a Rooster's Lone Star BBQ still exists in Murfreesboro.
At any rate, if you have a yen to start your own barbecue empire, a Rooster's on 12th liquidation sale is under way at the McLemore Auction website.
Everything must go, from booster chairs to trash cans to T-shirts to flat-screen TVs to — presumably the crown jewel — a 16-foot commercial smoker. If the auction interests you, check it out, but be aware it closes Wednesday, June 12.
