This week's featured Shop Wharton business
Hinze's Barbecue a true family affair
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Staff photo by Barry Halvorson Ready to scratch your itch for good food, the folks at Hinze's Barbecue are ready to meet your all your dining needs. The family owned business is also family operated by, from left, sisters Lydia Kubicek, Donna Floyd, brother Mike Hinze, mom Rosemary Hinze and sister Marlies Sciba.

For almost 40 years, Hinze's Barbecue has been filling Wharton's passion for quality dining.

Located on U.S. 59 between Texas 60 and FM 102, it was founded in 1970, current owner Mike Hinze said.

"My parents started the business and we've kept it in the family all these years," he said. In addition to Mike, his mom, Rosemary Hinze, and sisters, Lydia Kubicek, Donna Floyd, and Marlies Sciba are also involved with the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.

The restaurant is open to the public 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday- Thursday; 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. You can find both the regular menu as well as specials, including a turkey and dressing meal offered every Sunday.

While offering a wide variety of different menu items, Hinze said that brisket is still the big seller. And it usually is accompanied by the restaurant's own signature barbecue sauce.

"I'm the only one who makes it," Hinze said. "And its made from scratch. A lot of places will start with a commercial sauce and try to fix it up but we don't do that. It's a family secret I got from my mom and I keep it in my head so it isn't even written down."

And the sauce is just the start of the good eating only found at Hinze's.

"All our side dishes are prepared from scratch in our kitchen. People going through the ordering line can actually see into the kitchen how food is being prepared and handled. We get a lot of calls for recipes on how we prepare various items and we'll tell people what might be in it but not how to put it together. That's our secret."

Almost as popular as the brisket to start off the meal is the dessert to end it.

"We also specialize in meringue pies," he said.

Hinze also takes pride in that several dishes aren't prepared until ordered by the customer.

"We hand batter all our fish, shrimp and chicken fried steak," he said. "And it isn't done until it's ordered so you know it's fresh."

In addition to the main restaurant, the business features two additional banquet rooms as well as offering catering and take-out service.

"We host the meals for the Lions and Masonic Lodge meetings here," he said. "And we cater the Rotary Club lunch twice a month. We also support a lot of local organizations with donations. We really like being involved with Special Olympics and we also try to sponsor youth sports teams as well as donating regularly to a wide variety of community fundraisers and civic organizations."

For those needing a catered meal, Hinze said that small groups of around 20 can be accommodated on short notice, as soon as the same day, while larger groups are asked to make reservations in advance depending on the number.

"We can cater up to 1,000 people," he said. "For something like that, we'd prefer a couple of weeks notice. But regardless of the number of people, we strive to provide the same quality of food and service as if you just walked through the door. We could do things cheaper, but we don't want to because I'm not willing to compromise on our quality."

As a member of the Wharton Chamber of Commerce, Hinze believes in supporting other local businesses in the community.

"We buy for the restaurant in the community," he said. "We also buy vehicles for our catering and have them maintained here. And when I go out to eat, I go to other Wharton restaurants."

Employing 26 people, Hinze said he always has an opening for dedicated, industrious employees. For more information, call 532-2710.