Houston’s Feges BBQ Lets Veterans Eat Free Every Friday and Its Purple Heart Pitmaster is Planning Something Even Bigger

A Veterans Day Barbecue Bonanza That Gives Real-Life Heroes Their Due (and Good Food)

Veteran, pitmaster and owner of Feges BBQ, Patrick Feges has worn a lot of hats. Now he wants to give back to his fellow veterans.

A close-up of some of Feges BBQ delicious dishes. (Photo by Julie Soefer)

President George W Bush visited the bedside of the injured veteran Patrick Feges, a recipient of the Purple Heart. (Courtesy of Patrick Feges)

Feges BBQ is all about some serious eats. (Photo by Julie Soefer)

Veteran, pitmaster and owner of Feges BBQ, Patrick Feges has worn a lot of hats. Now he wants to give back to his fellow veterans.

Every Friday the team at Feges BBQ pays homage to those who have served our country by serving them a meal for free. Barbecue pitmaster and Feges owner Patrick Feges is a veteran and recipient of a Purple Heart (for injuries he sustained during a tour in Iraq) who with the community’s generous support wants every veteran to dine well at the end of a long work week.

“A free meal is just a small show of gratitude for the sacrifices of the men and women in the armed forces,” Feges says.

This pitmaster discovered cooking and barbecue during his own combat injury recovery, so Patrick Feges understands better than most how food can heal the body and soul.

In fact, since 2018 Patrick and his wife and Feges BBQ co-owner and chef Erin Smith have served nearly 1,500 free meals, having begun this endeavor at both their Greenway Plaza and Spring Branch Feges BBQ restaurants. Considered one of the 50 best barbecue joints in the state according to Texas Monthly magazine’s vaunted rankings, Feges serves up barbecue smoked meats cooked low and slow like pulled pork, brisket, turkey and half chicken along with tempting sides from hog fat laced cornbread to elote corn salad and sweet and spicy Brussels sprouts.

Continuing his mission to serve, Feges will not only offer up free meals every Friday to fellow veterans. He also plans to mark the occasion of Veterans Day (November 11) in a special way. The Feges BBQ team expects to feed more than 500 military vets for free on Veterans Day and appreciates all the support they’ve received to complete their mission.

The program has been made possible thanks to generous donations. If you’d like to give, head to the restaurant’s website here and purchase a gift card. (To donate to the free meals for veterans program, the recipient should be erin@fegesbbq.com.)