Driving northeast on Highway 90 toward Crosby reveals endless fields of oil-well drill pipe operations and other industries supporting the nearby refineries.

Unlike more established suburbs like Katy and The Woodlands, however, the fast-growing areas around Crosby and Mont Belvieu still feel like small towns.

Opening and successfully running a business there, especially a barbecue restaurant, requires a detailed understanding of consumer tastes and local conditions. For Isaac Macal, owner and pitmaster La Cruda Brand BBQ in Crosby, his local connections made all the difference in transitioning from a food trailer to a new brick-and-mortar in record time.

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Macal, 38, grew up in nearby Jacinto City and attended Galena Park High School before working for a large foodservice company in Pasadena. He opened the food trailer in 2022.

The first step was finding a location. A family member of a friend tipped him off about a local........

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