Wayne Mueller says his father, Bobby (pictured above), built the reputation for Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, and he hopes to continue it.

At Taylor’s Louie Mueller Barbecue, preserving the past is a priority.

"These are the original floors,” Wayne Mueller said. “Instead of replacing planks we've got a lot of little metal patches everywhere."

And, almost everything above those floors has remained the same as well.

"In some ways we're like a theme park, amusement park, lunch stop … I don't know," Mueller said.

	Taste of Texas
•Read the tribute to the late Robert Mueller, from the Texas House of Representatives. •Read the first mouth-watering installment to the News 8 Barbecue Series.

Mueller said simplicity is the key at this landmark.

"Grandpa figured out a long time ago if you start getting too cute with your rubs you're automatically going to start excluding people,” he said.

While Mueller's grandpa developed secrets, his father Bobby, built the restaurant's worldwide reputation.

The third generation of Muellers took control of the pits after Bobby died suddenly last September.

Earlier this month, the Texas House of Representatives paused to remember Mueller's contributions to the state.

		WATCH THE VIDEO
	Local Legends News 8's Russell Wilde finds out about two landmark Central Texas barbecue joints. Louie Mueller Barbecue Hear more of Russell Wilde’s interview with Wayne Mueller as he comments on the one thing that almost changed at the restaurant. Black's Barbecue Watch as Edgar Black shares his secrets and his thoughts on his son and grandson taking over the family business.

Wayne is now running the restaurant, and he admits he's got some very large shoes to attempt fill.

"He really is taking on a mythical kind of stature to me," he said.

Just down the road in Lockhart, the Black family has been smoking for more than 75 years at Black's Barbecue.

For more than 60 of those years, Edgar Black Jr. has been welcoming customers.

"Not many people last in a job 60 years," Edgar said.

Now in his 80s, Edgar’s son handles the day-to-day business and a grandson says he want to continue the family tradition.

"He said, ‘My daddy is next in line, when he goes I'm the next in line, and I want to learn what to do down here,'" Edgar said.

Edgar’s wife, Norma, said that’s something she hopes for.

"It's part of our family, a tradition we hope they'll carry on," she said.

	The key to success for the Black family, according to Edgar Black, is choosing the best meats money can buy.

It’s a tradition that means more than all the accolades the meats have received.

Black’s is the oldest barbecue joint in Texas to be continuously operated by the same family, something that should continue for decades to come.

That means Black always will be able to satisfy his carnivorous cravings.