Since the doors opened in 1946, Tony DeMaria's Bar-B-Que has been family owned and operated. The restaurant was originally opened as a grocery store and meat market by Tony DeMaria Jr. and in the 50’s Tony served barbecue to road crews who were in the process of building Interstate Highway 35 through Waco. In 1954, Tony married Lillie Cassiola, who often helped out with the business. Tony and Lillie had four children; Gary, Greg, Gina, and Geoff – who would all grow up to help out at the store at one time or another. In 2021, Geoff retired and sold the business to Blake, who runs the restaurant today. In 1995, Geoff built a new building on the corner of Elm and Rose streets at 1000 Elm St. and moved the business just down the street from the original location The business now operates solely as a barbecue restaurant using the same recipe that’s been served since the 50’s.