BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo's Southern Junction is expanding as owner and pitmaster Ryan Fernandez looks to build on the popular barbecue restaurant's continued growth.
Southern Junction, located at 365 Connecticut Street, is remodeling the attached space next door, adding a dedicated pickup counter and a new lunch menu.
Fernandez said his catering business has tripled over the last year, and brisket use has jumped from 200 pounds a week in 2023 to 1,000 pounds a week today. The expansion is designed to keep up with that demand while improving the experience for customers.
"I feel like this is the year we wanna completely hone it in, move in here, optimize everything that we have here, and really just dial in all of our processes," Fernandez said.
The new space will be styled after an old-school barbecue counter, with a dedicated area for takeout orders. Fernandez said wait times for customers picking up food have been a pain point he wants to fix.
"A lot of folks come in to just get takeout, and I don't want them to wait 30 minutes just to get an order, and you know, wait in line to get an order to go," Fernandez said.
A new lunch menu is also planned for the expanded space, featuring chopped beef sandwiches, salads, and rice bowls — including options that reflect Fernandez's signature blend of Texas barbecue techniques and Southern Indian flavors.
"We're going to do rice bowls, we're going to do brisket biryani rice bowls, coconut curry chicken rice bowls, all smoked obviously," Fernandez said.
WATCH: Southern Junction in Buffalo is expanding, adding dedicated pickup counter and new lunch menu
Fernandez said the goal is to have both the new counter and lunch offerings ready by mid-July.
The expansion comes as Southern Junction has grown well beyond its local following since opening on Chandler Street in 2020 and later relocating to its current Connecticut Street location. Fernandez has earned two James Beard Award nominations, recognition he said he never anticipated.
"I never ever expected it to kind of get to the level that it did," Fernandez said.
Fernandez was born in India and moved to Texas as a teenager, where he developed a passion for barbecue that became the foundation of Southern Junction's menu. All large cuts of meat are smoked for 12 to 14 hours.
"My barbecue style is Tex-ish, so it's Texas-style cooking methods, and we incorporate a little bit of Southern Indian flavors to it," Fernandez said.
Fernandez and his team will be serving up barbecue at the upcoming afterparty for the James Beard Award ceremony in Chicago.
