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John Mueller's new joint in Granger (Williamson County)

Jim Thompson

By Jim Thompson
in Food and Travel

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Cajun

Cajun 11722

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Posted

The dude makes some bangin' food, but that's it.  When the novelty/"haha" of his Soup Nazi schtick wears off all that's left is a cock gobbler of the highest order.

As far as the bangin' Q goes, there are enough alternatives that are as good or better that it just isn't worth the time or trouble to enable his shit any further.

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Wanker Bob

Wanker Bob 379

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16 hours ago, Cajun said:

The dude makes some bangin' food, but that's it.  When the novelty/"haha" of his Soup Nazi schtick wears off all that's left is a cock gobbler of the highest order.

As far as the bangin' Q goes, there are enough alternatives that are as good or better that it just isn't worth the time or trouble to enable his shit any further.

So I was bored and wandered to see what's up with these food topics and saw this one. As someone who has no idea who john mueller is... What did he do to you? 

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Whatever

Whatever 700

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I ate here on Saturday. Got a 5 beer flight for $5 which was a hell of a deal. Brisket stew was great. Pork steak with 2 sides for $12 also excellent and a hell of a deal. Did see some people ordering pizza at the brewery which also looked excellent. The ribs are baby backs rather than his standard. Very good, but preferred the standard. The brisket is the same good stuff as always.
One annoyance - you sit and someone eventually takes your order, then eventually brings it. A lot slower than the "standard" Q experience. Sit and enjoy your cheap flight.

Did you visit Brandon Everage’s house while you were in town?
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SydneyCarton

SydneyCarton 48124

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6 hours ago, Wanker Bob said:

So I was bored and wandered to see what's up with these food topics and saw this one. As someone who has no idea who john mueller is... What did he do to you? 

For starters he stole a bunch of money from people on this site who invested in one of his failed iterations of a BBQ restaurant. That’s like the fifth time he’s stolen from investors and a place has gone out of business. Generally speaking most people here don’t actively root for complete shitbags, much less ones proven several times over. 

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Cajun

Cajun 11722

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9 hours ago, Wanker Bob said:

So I was bored and wandered to see what's up with these food topics and saw this one. As someone who has no idea who john mueller is... What did he do to you? 

Nothing.

Neither did Charles Manson or Hitler.

Why would you assume that my opinion of him couldn't be based on things he did to others?

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31511

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Posted (edited)

To elaborate, John is a very talented barbecue cook.

But he's a bad businessman with what appears to be a tendency to self-deal, i.e. steal.  This apparently has caused a rift between him and his family. 

He opened a "branch" of Louie Mueller in Austin some years ago that failed, with no particular public fallout.

He then had a trailer-type operation on S. 1st.  His sister took it over from him in what became LA BBQ after another failure and there was a fairly public spat on social media, with her accusing him of financial shenanigans going back a ways.

Prior to that, I think the royal we assumed he was just a bad businessman in what can be a marginal business.  Not every failed business is an investor fraud.  He still received something of the benefit of the doubt and was a poster on the old site.

I forget which one, but surly/shag people invested in one or more of his ventures that went belly up, and accusations and ill will began to fly.

His next venture was shut down by the state for failure to pay sales tax, which is a pretty good sign of self-dealing.  Someone then stole his pit, and rumor had it that it was investors trying to recoup with a little self-help repossession.  The sales tax thing may have been an issue with some of his prior ventures without reaching the shut down stage.  I wonder too about payroll taxes, which are ripe for abuse by someone who doesn't pay over sales tax.

He is also quite surly in a way that goes a bit beyond "good fun," and probably has a spot of a drinking problem so that he is a bit of a full-time asshole.

I'm not connected to the deal as are some, but I have a good memory for what went on.  I'm sure I'll be corrected where this is in error.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

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On 8/18/2020 at 5:20 AM, Cajun said:

The dude makes some bangin' food, but that's it.  When the novelty/"haha" of his Soup Nazi schtick wears off all that's left is a cock gobbler of the highest order.

As far as the bangin' Q goes, there are enough alternatives that are as good or better that it just isn't worth the time or trouble to enable his shit any further.

Yeah, his Q may have been "bangin" at one time, but with all the new competition over the last several years, it's somewhere below "bangin" and above "average" now.  In other words, it's just above average Q today.

3 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

For starters he stole a bunch of money from people on this site who invested in one of his failed iterations of a BBQ restaurant. That’s like the fifth time he’s stolen from investors and a place has gone out of business. Generally speaking most people here don’t actively root for complete shitbags, much less ones proven several times over. 

He had a cult following on TOS the likes of which I've never seen before or since.  Even by shaggy/surly groupthink standards, that shit was just weird.  Hell, there are even some here now that still seem to worship him.  Not too long ago, I questioned Champ for having his name on his menu in a "why would anyone want to be associated with JM" kind of way, and I got the shit negged out of me for even bringing it up.

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Cajun

Cajun 11722

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1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

To elaborate, John is a very talented barbecue cook.

But he's a bad businessman with what appears to be a tendency to self-deal, i.e. steal.  This apparently has caused a rift between him and his family. 

He opened a "branch" of Louie Mueller in Austin some years ago that failed, with no particular public fallout.

He then had a trailer-type operation on S. 1st.  His sister took it over from him in what became LA BBQ after another failure and there was a fairly public spat on social media, with her accusing him of financial shenanigans going back a ways.

Prior to that, I think the royal we assumed he was just a bad businessman in what can be a marginal business.  Not every failed business is an investor fraud.  He still received something of the benefit of the doubt and was a poster on the old site.

I forget which one, but surly/shag people invested in one or more of his ventures that went belly up, and accusations and ill will began to fly.

His next venture was shut down by the state for failure to pay sales tax, which is a pretty good sign of self-dealing.  Someone then stole his pit, and rumor had it that it was investors trying to recoup with a little self-help repossession.  The sales tax thing may have been an issue with some of his prior ventures without reaching the shut down stage.  I wonder too about payroll taxes, which are ripe for abuse by someone who doesn't pay over sales tax.

He is also quite surly in a way that goes a bit beyond "good fun," and probably has a spot of a drinking problem so that he is a bit of a full-time asshole.

I'm not connected to the deal as are some, but I have a good memory for what went on.  I'm sure I'll be corrected where this is in error.

But what did he do to YOU?

😉

And you forgot the stabby McStab part.  Helluva recap though.

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Cajun

Cajun 11722

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21 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

Yeah, his Q may have been "bangin" at one time, but with all the new competition over the last several years, it's somewhere below "bangin" and above "average" now.  In other words, it's just above average Q today.

Ok, you said it better.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31511

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Posted
Just now, Cajun said:

But what did he do to YOU?

😉

And you forgot the stabby McStab part.  Helluva recap though.

Lol yeah.  Part of his surliness is waving knives at customers.  I only made it to the S. 1st location once and they were running low when I got there.  Twas pretty good though.

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Skipper

Skipper 6149

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6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Lol yeah.  Part of his surliness is waving knives at customers.  

No time for screen grab but I responded to a tweet of his last night bitching about Baby A's experience (sun glasses stolen and asshole manager) with a joke about this customer service and it didn't go over too well LOL.  I'm pretty sure I am now definitely on the stab list should I ever show up at his joint.

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luke duke

luke duke 6413

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Someone then stole his pit, and rumor had it that it was investors trying to recoup with a little self-help repossession.


The pit was loaned to John. I don’t know what the understanding was between John and the loaner, but the loaner felt the need to get his pit back. The loaner posts here and can elaborate if he chooses.
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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31511

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3 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Yeah, his Q may have been "bangin" at one time, but with all the new competition over the last several years, it's somewhere below "bangin" and above "average" now.  In other words, it's just above average Q today.

He had a cult following on TOS the likes of which I've never seen before or since.  Even by shaggy/surly groupthink standards, that shit was just weird.  Hell, there are even some here now that still seem to worship him.  Not too long ago, I questioned Champ for having his name on his menu in a "why would anyone want to be associated with JM" kind of way, and I got the shit negged out of me for even bringing it up.

Well, at the time of the 1st St iteration, JMMC (IIRC), it was one of the earliest alternatives to the ridiculously popular Franklin.  And, in many ways, JM fits right in with the oeuvre of this site.  So his popularity was somewhat understandable.  Then he came to actually post, which is always worth something round here.

It was that good will that allowed people to ignore/forgive the LA BBQ debacle, which proved to be a portent.  Well, that and the pickled things she started serving.

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45998

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4 minutes ago, futureman said:

no.  I saw him get short with people plenty of times but they were all stupid assholes.  I just assume most of the people posting here are stupid assholes. 

I'm not talking about the gruff act, I'm talking about the shady business dealings.  Nobody here is criticizing his food, and free Lone Star was always nice.  Getting bitched out by John was in the same realm of getting shit at G&M Steakhouse -- it was just part of the deal.  That said, he's fucked over a whole bunch of people throughout his career.  That's not cool.

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Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

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39 minutes ago, futureman said:

no.  I saw him get short with people plenty of times but they were all stupid assholes.  I just assume most of the people posting here are stupid assholes. 

He was shitty with me the one time I went there...and was just being my usual incredibly charming (and handsome) self.

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Wanker Bob

Wanker Bob 379

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5 hours ago, Cajun said:

Nothing.

Neither did Charles Manson or Hitler.

Why would you assume that my opinion of him couldn't be based on things he did to others?

Meant more of the "royal you" but should have worded it "what did he do to have you that pissed at him" or something similar. 

Thanks for all of the info, chaps. Sounds like quite the character. Did he not get any jail time over tax fraud?

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HouTex

HouTex 1887

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2 hours ago, futureman said:

all he’s ever done to me is shoot the shit and be friendly, give me free beer, and sell me great bbq.  you people are sad. 

Except for the "you people are sad" part, this was my experience as well.  That said, if it's true, his greatest sin is not paying payroll and/or sales taxes.  That fucks us all.  As for screwing investors around, I can't imagine ever investing (and there's a big difference whether it was a loan or an equity investment) in a restaurant business that is basically a guy and a BBQ pit--which perhaps he didn't even own.  That's a big buyer beware.  Doesn't excuse actual fraud, however.

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TonyTexas

TonyTexas 10518

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1 hour ago, futureman said:

no.  I saw him get short with people plenty of times but they were all stupid assholes.  I just assume most of the people posting here are stupid assholes. 

If you meet an asshole in the morning,, you met an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, you're the asshole

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8708

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His barbecue in Georgetown continued to be really good. I tried the place in Granger earlier this year and it was not good at all. Parts of the brisket were inedible - not just bad or dry, but inedible. A restauranteur that cared at all wouldn`t have served that crap and I watched him slice it personally. His give a shitter was definitely broke in Granger. Maybe he'll get the food quality back in line with the new place in Jarrell.

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