The Fire Starts Every Morning: RIP Bobby Mueller

Done too soon: Bobby Mueller died in his sleep at age 69. However, the meat goes on. If this is (fair & balanced) respect for competence, so be it.

[x Austin Fishwrap]
Owner Of Iconic Taylor Barbecue Joint Had High Standards
By Patrick George

Bobby Mueller recently told his son that he had spent about 160,000 hours of his life at his Taylor (Texas) barbecue restaurant.

"A typical workweek for him would be a 90-hour week," Wayne Mueller said of his father, the owner and pit master of Louie Mueller Barbecue, who often arrived as early as 4 a.m. on weekdays to prepare meat and side dishes.

"He had a simple formula: put out the best you can every day, and do it consistently," Wayne Mueller said.

Robert Louis Mueller, 69, died in his sleep over the weekend. He was discovered by his wife about 8 a.m. Saturday, Wayne Mueller said. An autopsy is pending.

Bobby Mueller's restaurant, famous for its massive beef ribs and for the nubs of meat provided to customers waiting in line, grew out of a Safeway grocery store that his father, Louie, started in 1936. The Taylor restaurant, which Louie Mueller started in 1949, is considered one of the best barbecue joints in America; Texas Monthly magazine recently named it one of the top five in Texas, and it won a James Beard Foundation Award, a kind of food Oscar, in 2006.

Wayne Mueller said his father held quality and customer service in the highest regard, preferring to run out of food before selling yesterday's meats to his guests. All of the items on his menu were made fresh daily.

"He was dedicated to his principles," Wayne Mueller said. "He made sure to do everything he could to fulfill his responsibilities."

Bobby Mueller was born in 1939. He played football and ran track in high school before leaving Taylor for Texas Christian University, and he spent a year in Korea serving in the military. He came back to Taylor in 1965 to work in his father's restaurant, which he ended up taking over in 1974. Louie Mueller died in 1992.

Wayne Mueller said his father's death was unexpected. He had been in excellent shape and was an avid runner until a few years ago.

"He wore out more shoes that I did sets of tires," Mueller said.

He remembers his dad as a man of very few words who was committed to his community, including organizing peewee football, and was active in supporting local schools.

"In my estimation, he was the strongest man I ever knew," Wayne Mueller said of his father's convictions.

Mueller said he will take over the restaurant.

"My pledge to him was I'd continue it and move it forward," Mueller said. "I never expected him not to be there. I just expected his early mornings to cease."

Funeral arrangements are pending. Mueller said the restaurant will be open today.

[Patrick George is a feature writer for the Austin American-Statesman.]

Copyright © 2008 Austin American-Statesman

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