The restaurant business is in the blood of Oscar Torres. One brother opened Ernesto’s Gourmet Mexican Specialties in San Antonio. Another brother launched Mi Madre’s and School House Pub in Austin.
Torres took a different route. He became a journeyman electrician, earned his master electrician license and built a successful business. But then his kids grew up and got married and his wife grew restless.
An idea formed. Torres felt a pull. He brainstormed with his family. Then voila, at age 49, Torres jumped into the restaurant business.
Bar-B-Q Republic sprang from an empty nest.
“It kind of hit me late,” Torres said.
Six years after opening, Bar-B-Q Republic has become the new family nest on Southeast Military Drive.
Torres cooks the food. His wife, Donica Torres, handles the finances. Their daughter, Carina Ramirez, manages the restaurant. Their four grandchildren, Gabby, 16, Mila, 13, Gianna, 13, and Mason, 9, serve supporting roles, from working the cash register and food line to cleaning tables and refilling drinks.
“It definitely is a family enterprise,” Oscar said. “Carina is a great help. I tell her, ‘We need this,’ and she gets it done. Scheduling. Managing. Everything. And we’re happy and proud to have our grandchildren learning the business.”
On a recent afternoon, Donica Torres looked around the establishment with pride: Her granddaughter, Mila Whiteside, was working the front of the restaurant. Another grandchild, Gabby Ramirez, was scheduled to work in the kitchen the following day.
“It’s a joy having them here,” Donica Torres said, “to learn and see a side of business not many kids get to see. It’s a blessing.”
Bar-B-Q Republic opened in 2019 on Southton Road. It felt like home to Oscar Torres. He grew up on the South Side and graduated from Burbank High School. At 17, he began doing electrical work. At 18, he joined the Army and served two years.
After leaving the military, Oscar Torres returned home and became an apprentice electrician. He mastered his craft and started his own business. To fund the enterprise, he sold his prize possessions: two 1967 Chevy Camaros.
“I’ve always been an old car enthusiast,” Oscar Torres said. “But I needed capital to open ‘One Source Electric.’”
After their daughter Carina Ramirez married and son Oscar Torres, Jr. left home to join the military, Donica Torres felt unsettled. She asked to join her husband on his work outings.
“I was surprised because she had never shown any interest,” said Oscar Torres, who was growing tired of the electrical business. “I guess she found herself at home like, ‘I don’t have any kids to take care of.’ So that led me to think, ‘I need to start doing something that we can do together.’”
Oscar Torres barbecued at home as his son and daughter grew up. He took the family to barbecue joints in Lockhart and Austin. The Torres’ bonded over brisket, sausage and ribs.
Meanwhile, Oscar Torres’s oldest brother, Ernesto Torres, ran a successful Mexican seafood restaurant on Jackson-Keller. Another older brother, Aurelio Torres, ran two thriving eateries and a rooftop bar in Austin.
Oscar Torres had an awakening. The family DNA, the restless wife, the burnout from electrical work, the passion for smoked meats, all were flashing indicators pressing for change. Before launching, though, the couple wanted to be sure they had God’s blessing.
“We prayed about this,” Donica Torres said. “We are people of faith. We give God all the glory for our success.”
Success did not come quickly or easily. COVID-19 hit one year after Bar-B-Q Republic opened. Oscar Torres closed the restaurant for months. Post-pandemic business returned slowly.
“It was tough,” Donica Torres said. “There were some nights we were questioning if we did the right thing.”
Oscar designed the recipes, smoked the meats, checked the inventory and leaned on his wife and daughter to take care of everything else.
“He’s the brains of the operation,” Donica Torres said. “It scares me how smart he is and how busy he is, always reading and thinking. I’m like, ‘You think too much sometimes.’”
Hard work and perseverance prevailed. Breakthrough came in year three. As business grew, they moved to a larger site on Southeast Military Drive. Bar-B-Q Republic re-opened in April with a larger dining room, a private party room and a substantially larger kitchen.
“We are so grateful,” Donica Torres said. “Our kitchen is very spacious. We have double the space we had before. Maybe triple. We have room for refrigerators and freezers. We have a big, gigantic stove. We have a lot more traffic now. We have a drive-thru, which we didn’t have before. And that’s about 20-25 percent of our business.”
The future flows in the blood of the next generation. One grandchild works the drive-through window. Another wipes down tables. A third chats with customers.
Each of them wears a black and white T-shirt with a name that sprang from a dream: Bar-B-Q Republic.
