Heritage Barbecue Expanding in San Juan Capistrano

Heritage Barbecue first opened in the historic downtown of San Juan Capistrano at 31721 Camino Capistrano in the summer of 2020. Since then, the spot has become popular, even garnering acclaim from Michelin.

Now, it has plans to grow. Heritage Barbecue is in the process of expanding its site in San Juan Capistrano, according to a recent Instagram announcement on their page. The expansion will include six new covered smokers and some expansions to the menu, including a new prix-fixe menu option.

The largest change, however, will be the addition of a new dining space for customers. Heritage Barbecue will be receiving a barn that is nearly 150 years old from the Casa Manuel Garcia historical site nearby. The barn — originally built in 1880 — will be disassembled and transported two blocks to the Heritage Barbecue location.

The barn will provide a large indoor and outdoor dining area that will be able to seat 50 customers inside and will offer several new outdoor tables, giving Heritage Barbecue the ability to expand its operation.

Owners Brenda and Daniel Castillo opened Heritage Barbecue in 2020 to bring Texas-style barbecue to Orange County. The spot serves meats like brisket, tri-tip, sausage, pulled pork, spare ribs, pastrami and pork belly. It also offers sides like brisket beans, mac and cheese, seasonal slaw, mashed potatoes and potato salad. Other menu items include sandwiches, a tri-tip taco, cornbreads and locally-made potato bread.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring this next chapter of Heritage Barbecue to life and welcome even more of you to our first brick-and-mortar,” the team said in the Instagram post announcing the expansion. “Thank you for being part of this journey with us — there’s so much more to come.”

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