The passion and soul of A&M BBQ

is a dedication to our roots

Kris Austin’s journey began in Abbeville, Mississippi, a small town just outside Oxford, where he was raised alongside his two older sisters in a large, tight-knit family of cooks. Weekends and holidays were never quiet. Whether it was a birthday, the Fourth of July, or simply an excuse to gather, there was always a cookout or a table full of food. Around Kris, cooking wasn’t an occasion, it was a way of life.

His family raised, hunted, and processed their own food, from hogs and deer to chickens and cattle, and tended multiple gardens between his grandmother’s and father’s homes. At his grandmother’s house stood a smokehouse, where meats were cured, hung, and slowly smoked. That’s where Kris’s connection to barbecue truly began. Life in the country meant there was always something happening, always work to be done, and always a meal in the making.

Faith has always been at the center of Kris’s life, alongside a deep love for football and fishing. From an early age, he was taught patience, discipline, and the value of hard work, principles that naturally carried over into barbecue. The “low and slow” approach wasn’t just a technique; it was a reflection of how he was raised. Around the table, phrases like “cook with love” and “put your foot in it” weren’t just sayings, they were expectations.

Time spent in his grandmother’s kitchen shaped more than just his palate. It connected him to his roots, his history, and the stories of the generations before him; stories of resilience, community, and survival. That foundation is what ultimately drew him into the culinary world: the ability to take those memories, that love, and those lessons, and share them with others through food.

Kris credits his grandmother, Ethel Malone; his parents, Larry and Gladys Austin; and a long list of aunts and uncles, including Pauline Malone, Deloris “Pete” Malone, Alton “Sonny” Jones, and Elizabeth “Liz”, as the driving forces behind his passion. Like many from a big Southern family, it was a community that raised him.

Whether you’re a California local discovering us for the first time or a Texas transplant chasing the taste of home, our doors are open. At A&M BBQ, you’re not just a customer, you’re sitting at our family table.