Top-50 BBQ pitmaster rejoins Goldee’s near Fort Worth

Former Sabar BBQ owner Zain Shafi, who started a small Fort Worth trailer serving Pakistani-Tex barbecue and made the state Texas Monthly Top 50 list, is joining the owners of Michelin Guide-recommended Goldee’s BBQ, he said this week.

Shafi told Texas Monthly he will join Jalen Heard, Lane Milne and Nupohn Inthanousay as owners of Goldee’s, a former state No., 1-ranked barbecue restaurant started by Arlington school classmates Heard and Milne on a rural backroad south of Kennedale.

Shafi joins the partnership in place of co-founder Jonny White, he said. Heard, Milne and White had learned the craft barbecue business in Austin and then came home to open a consistently top-ranked restaurant..

Shafi worked at Goldee’s, then left to open his own Sabar BBQ in South Main Village. He closed it two weeks ago, saying only that he had a “new opportunity we couldn’t pass on.”

Sabar BBQ was praised in Texas Monthly for Shafi’s brisket, seekh-kebab sausage and Sichuan lamb ribs. Sabar was also noted for the spicy lentil stew.

Goldee’s, 4645 Dick Price Road, opened in 2020 and has always served barbecue from a variety of cultures, notably Laotian sausages.

The core menu is made up of traditional Texas barbecue classics: brisket, housemade sausages, beef and pork ribs, plus sides and homemade bread.

Goldee’s is usually open weekends for lunch only and will reopen Jan. 2 after the holidays.

It’s open from 11 a.m. Fridays through Sundays. Lines are long until about 12:30-1 p.m., but the brisket may sell out earlier.

Goldee’s is 4 miles south of Interstate 20 off Mansfield Highway, or 6½ miles east of Interstate 35W off Everman Parkway and Shelby Road; facebook.com/goldeesbbq.

White continues at Ribbee’s, open Wednesdays through Sundays at 923 E. Seminary Drive, Fort Worth; ribbees.com.

This story was originally published December 26, 2025 at 4:17 AM.