Brisket plate with beans at Swing Inn Cafe & BBQ in Temecula, Calif.

Pits at Swing Inn Cafe & BBQ in Temecula, Calif.

Sliced brisket sandwich, pork ribs and beans at AC Barbeque at Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles, Calif.

Menu at Swing Inn Cafe & BBQ in Temecula, Calif.

It’s not every day you see a headline announcing that a British movie director known for gangster films is opening a Texas barbecue joint. Such is the case, though, with Guy Ritchie’s new Lore of the Sky smokehouse in South West England.

The moviemaker, known for the comedy heist film "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," joins a trend of major and minor celebrities attaching their fame to barbecue joints associated with smoked meats of the Lone Star State.

GUIDE: The best barbecue joints in Houston

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Celebrity-owned restaurants are certainly nothing new. Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Wahlburgers by the Wahlberg family, and a bevy of Guy Fieri restaurants (including barbecue concepts) are successful brands that have succeeded with celebrity backing.

In Houston,........

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