After 28 years in the Mexican restaurant business in Mason, Michael Zavala decided to get into the food service business here.

“I’ve always wanted to just do barbecue,” said Zavala, who also did some barbecue and catering at his previous location. “I felt Fredericksburg would be a good fit for us to do a barbecue restaurant.”

Zavala, along with his wife, Jennifer; sister, Debra Rodriguez, and her son, Jonathon, opened Backwoods Barbecue on July 28, 2016.

Debra and her husband, Jabier, own the 7.5 acres the restaurant is at on FM 2093 (Tivydale Road).