Tre’s Bar-B-Q doesn't go about things the traditional way.
In the back of the Maverick Dining kitchen, executive sous chef Austin Banks and his crew use an indoor smoker to slowly cook 18 to 22 briskets each night for next-day service.
“We put in a system in place to where we always want to be ready for the next day,” Banks said.
The setup was years in the making for Banks and Maverick Dining.
Banks used to bring his own barbecue pit to smoke meat for catering events on campus, he said. After receiving positive feedback and hosting a few sold-out events, the concept slowly baked into a full-fledged campus restaurant in January 2025.
Now, Tre’s Bar-B-Q looks to establish a unique experience among Arlington’s ever-growing barbecue scene — teaching student workers how to cut meats, offering vegetarians alternative options like baked potatoes with beans, corn or other toppings and introducing international students to the vast world of barbecue.
“It's something that brings all cultures together,” Banks said.
For sous-chef David Patton, these conversations with students opened his mind.
“I can recall just a quick story of seeing international students and they're asking me questions where I'm like, ‘Oh you don't know what coleslaw is?’” Patton said. “But then having to backtrack and be like, ‘You know what? Maybe this person doesn't know what coleslaw is. They’ve never ever seen it.’”
These interactions are what shape Tre’s Bar-B-Q’s flavors as it grows into its space within the university.
The restaurant looks to bring barbecue to all parts of campus and do so with care.
To do so, they also add something traditional.
“We put love,” Banks said. “It's all about the love and what you put into it.”
