Mr. Goss and Belmont�s Goss Barbeque. (original) (raw)
Still operating under the guidance of 92 year-old Luther Fleming Goss.
The corrugated steel building with the no-nonsense signage is one of the last authentic Texas oases left. Originally built as a Model T garage and a blacksmith shop, it�s been the home of Goss barbeque since anyone can remember.
Belmont�s Premier Business
TE photo, July 2008
Luther Goss and a roll of butcher's paper - an important part of what separates serious barbeque from the mediocre.
TE photo, July 2008
The Goss family has figured prominently in Belmont commerce since the 1850s and at one time they owned the local cotton gin. An aging photo of the gin hangs on the wall of the dining area although it was torn down sometime in the 1970s.
Luther Fleming Goss was born in 1916 and attended school in Belmont. He allowed that the rock shell across the highway was once a general store (circa 1886) and that a second store on the same side of the road was separated from the first by a 30 foot alley. When asked if he had bought candy from either store as a child, Mr. Goss simply stated: �We didn�t have any candy.�
Luther came of age in the 30s and (although it may seem hard to believe) he says he �found Belmont too small.� He became an oilfield worker and traveled to various oilfield towns around South Texas including Refugio and Benavides. He said that his crew sometimes visited the notorious town of Freer � but only to stop in at a domino / beer joint that was operated by a former coworker.
Goss� crew had the difficult job of �knocking out� blowouts � one of the most dangerous jobs in the oil patch. Despite Herculean efforts, results were sometimes disappointing. Mr. Goss tells of a blowout near Rita (outside of Refugio) that melted the state highway and burned the ties of the railroad tracks � resulting in a bend in the highway that remains today.
Dining room ambiance.
TE photo, July 2008
The dining room walls of the business are covered in Belmont-related newspaper clippings, photos and stories like the local man who once tried to introduce Yaks to Central Texas � supposedly for their milk and butter. (This enterprise predated the Emu-raising bubble of the 1980s and met the same degree of success).
One photo of a bull rider being thrown from a huge animal brought the remark � �I don�t remember the name of the man but the bull later broke his back in a rodeo and had to be put down.�
A poster or menu?
TE photo, July 2008
The Goss Cotton Gin in Belmont - no longer standing
TE photo, July 2008
Mr. Goss giving a dining room tour
TE photo, July 2008
If you�re traveling between Seguin and Gonzales (or Luling and Nixon) take the time to stop in for some authentic barbeque � served on traditional butcher�s paper.
Like the minimal signage and the understated fa�ade � it�s a no-frills trip back to the decade of your choice.
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