Popular Texas-style barbecue food truck closes suddenly

Pico’s BBQ, one of the Peninsula’s few Texas-style barbecue options, has closed, following an announcement by owner Russell Savage.

The eatery operated as Saturdays-only food truck based in Redwood City for about a year and, before that, as a weekly pop-up bringing dishes like ribs, brisket, sausage and sides to hungry customers.

“After an action-packed 2 and a half years, I’ve decided to close this chapter. THIS SATURDAY WILL BE MY LAST SERVICE,” wrote Savage on Instagram. “To all of my customers who’ve traveled near and far: you’ve made my heart full every Saturday. Pico’s would’ve been nothing without each one of you and it was my biggest pleasure to serve you. I poured my heart into this and I’m grateful you got to experience it.”

The reasons for the closure are many, he said in a recent interview. But none were related to a lack of customers.

He’d been burning the candle at both ends and risked burnout, and faced numerous obstacles to expanding his business.

He was running out of space in his food truck. He was passed over for a Small Business Administration loan because the restaurant was open only one day per week, and even after finding a potential brick-and-mortar spot to expand to, he learned it would be unlikely he’d get permission to operate a smoker.

Nearly a week after his final service Jan. 3, he says, “I’m happy with the decision.”

The thing he’s most proud of, he says, is the diversity he was able to draw in the lines that waited for his barbecue — customers who came from different economic, political and racial backgrounds.

“I really attracted a unique cross-section of California,” he says.