Franklin Barbecue Bans All Line Holders

Franklin Barbecue, known for tender brisket and long lines, has banned all line holders and order takers effective immediately. This includes the kid genius behind BBQ Fast Pass, Favor, and other similar businesses. Earlier this summer, the barbecue spot forbade single line waiters for groups. Nowadays, the morning wait for Franklin Barbecue can stretch up to five hours.

"We owe it to the rest of our faithful customers to not allow the distraction," Aaron and Stacy Franklin wrote in an email to Eater. They added, "We prefer to serve our customers in house, and not to have a second party representing our food and brand."

Desmond Roldan started BBQ Fast Pass this spring as a way to earn money for a car and donate to Austin Dog Rescue. Craigslist currently features many listings advertising line waiting services.

For those who have to start waiting for themselves now: there’s Twitter account Franklin BBQ Line, which gauges how long the line will be. Franklin also offers a limited number of preorders, which can be placed on Monday, October 5.

Update, October 5: Desmond Roldan of BBQ Fast Pass chimed in on Twitter about the new ban.

I am sad to hear that @FranklinBbq has banned professional line sitters.

— Desmond (@BBQFastPass) October 5, 2015

I respect the decision and I'm grateful for the opportunity to make BBQ wishes come true.

— Desmond (@BBQFastPass) October 5, 2015

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