For 18 Years, Off The Bone Has Served Stellar Barbecue In The Cedars

In full disclosure, we had been sleeping a bit on Off The Bone, the long-running barbecue joint in The Cedars, for reasons that are generally benign. With so many restaurants to cover in the city, we don’t always make it back to places we’ve covered in the past. And we’re in Texas, so barbecue has become easy to find.

Good barbecue wasn't always this accessible, however. I used to read the work of the incomparable Gavin Cleaver, the Observer’s former social media editor and British gent who discovered his love of smoked meats in Dallas. Craft barbecue was in its infancy, and Cleaver’s travels pointed me to several great barbecue spots (including a visit to Off The Bone in 2013) that fostered my own barbecue addiction. When I started writing for the Observer a decade ago (!), I was tasked to fill Cleaver’s shoes with stories, as described by my editor at the time, “similar to Cleaver’s, but less British.” I'm still not sure what that means, but here we are nevertheless.

I noticed Off The Bone's storefront on Botham Jean Boulevard while heading to another assignment recently, and made a note to stop back in. In the years since Cleaver's visit in 2013, Dwight and Rose Harvey have managed to keep Off The Bone relevant with a combination of delectable smoked meats and homemade sides that are solid crowd-pleasers. We sat down with the Harveys over some brisket, sausage, smoked chicken and a tray full of sides to talk about what it takes to keep a restaurant in business for so long.

Dwight and Rose both had full careers at PepsiCo. Dwight had put in 38 years in finance with the company, and upon retiring, started barbecuing in his back yard.

“This was a backyard hobby, something to occupy you and keep you busy,” Dwight recalls. “It developed into the family saying, 'OK, we've had enough of this, you should try to sell it.' That was 18 years ago. This is where we've landed and it's been fun.”

The original plan was for Dwight to cater, but he and his son decided to open Off The Bone as a restaurant at the same time. Rose continued to work for PepsiCo, but when she retired two years later, she knew what would fill her days to come.

“When I retired, people were asking me about my options. I thought, 'well I guess I’ll go help him,'” Rose says with a laugh while glancing at her husband.

The Harveys leaned heavily on family recipes to flesh out Off The Bone’s menu. Dwight credits his side of the family for most of the meats, which are smoked with pecan on Oyler rotisserie smokers. Brisket gets a simple salt and pepper rub, and the thick slices we nibble on while chatting are nearly perfect. Same goes for the ribs, which slide off the bone with the gentlest of tugs.

From her side of the family, Rose credits her mom for instilling her love of cooking.

“My mother was a cook. That's the way she survived. Took care of me and everything. And so my hobby is to read recipes,” Rose says. “And so for years, cooking was also a hobby to me because it was a release from work and I would go home on holidays and I would be her assistant for years."
As we listen, we're taking bites of potato salad, beans and collard greens, and it's easy to imagine we're at a Harvey family dinner instead of their restaurant.

The Harveys both agree that perfecting those recipes for meats and sides, as well as being able to consistently execute them, has been a key to Off The Bone's long-running success. From the early struggles of launching a restaurant and catering business to guiding the business through the pandemic, Off The Bone has continued to deliver a hearty and delicious meal, whether it's served at the restaurant or at any one of their catered events.

As we wrapped up lunch, the math suddenly clicked in our heads. Dwight Harvey spent 38 years at PepsiCo. Rose worked there for 40 years. And together, they’ve been running Off The Bone for 18 years after retirement. We couldn't help but ask what they think the future holds.

Rose tells us that their son moved into real estate, but still stays in touch with the business when he can. She hopes their family will become more involved over time so she and Dwight can take a step back. We asked Dwight what that would look like.

“I don’t know. Golf, maybe? Fishing,” he deadpans. “Sleeping in sometimes would be nice.”

Joking aside, we imagine Dwight and Rose Harvey are doing exactly what they want with their second career.

“It's got to be fun if you're still doing it right?” Dwight says. “There's the ups and downs. Like any restaurant business, like I say, had I known back in 2008 that it was like it was and then we got through that and then you go bump into Covid and the whole pandemic thing, you get out of that.

“And now we're facing 2025, which we have no idea what will happen, good, bad or indifferent,” he says. “We’re still working through the whole thing. And it's been good to us so far.”

Off The Bone Barbecue 1734 Botham Jean Blvd. Monday - Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Thursday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.