Nation’s best known BBQ restaurant to open second shop at Wetherill Park

A hearty meal of slow cooked meats is coming to Fairfield suburbs when Black Bear BBQ opens its second shop early next week.

Different cuts of meat are smoked for hours using ironbark wood at Black Bear BBQ. Picture: Facebook.com/blackbearhire

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In two years Black Bear has become the best known barbecue restaurant in Australia, and as of next week, the team is opening a second shop at Wetherill Park.

The bearded “pit masters” will be selling cuts of brisket smoked over ten hours, pork belly smoked over five hours and beef ribs smoked over six hours to locals, all cooked over vintage ironbark fuel.

“We’re serving one to two tonnes of meat a week,” Wetherill Park Black Bear BBQ co-owner Scott McCoy said.

“With this new operation, it will be about three tonnes.”

Black Bear BBQ co-owners Haydn Graham, Ben Huppatz and Scott McCoy at Wetherill Park. Picture: Robert Pozo

“Pit masters” work the smokers 24 hours a day to make sure there's enough food during Black Bear's eight hours of trading. Picture: Facebook.com/blackbearhire

Before Black Bear BBQ was hosting the largest barbecue competition in Australia, its owners were tradies looking for a good feed around Blacktown. The year was 2016.

“The first night we opened (the Blacktown shop), it pissed down rain. We had a line of people down the driveway,” Mr McCoy said.

“They all had umbrellas and were waiting in line for an hour. Then (co-founder) Hayden Graham said, ‘We gotta order the biggest smoker’.”

The Black Bear BBQ shopfront in Wetherill Park is almost ready for trading. Picture: Black Bear BBQ Facebook

The crew at BBQ working the smoker. Picture: Facebook.com/blackbearhire

The Wetherill Park shop will be opened in the heart of the suburb’s industrial district at 93 to 97 Newton Rd. Mr McCoy said that was no coincidence.

“It’s food for the masses, tradies and working person’s food,” he said.

“There’s a hole in the market for workers to get a good feed. All you can get (nearby) is general fast food.”

The long cook times require staff to work the 36-inch, four-metre smokers around the clock.

But when the shop opens on July 8, it will be trading on weekdays from 6am to 2pm, with Saturday trades to follow soon after.

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