Jim Goode
James Douglas Goode (April 15, 1944 – February 2, 2016) was an American businessperson who was the owner of the Goode Company restaurant group in Houston, Texas.[1]
As of 2012[update] there are four different restaurant styles and a total of seven locations.[2] His restaurant group includes Goode Company Barbecue; Goode Company Taqueria, which serves Mexican food and hamburgers; Goode Company Seafood, a sit-down seafood restaurant; and a southern, ranch style restaurant with live music called The Armadillo Palace. Four restaurants are located together on Kirby Drive.
Author
Early life
Goode was born and raised in
Goode enlisted in the Navy and was stationed in
Goode acquired it for $6,000.[5] $3,000 of the money used to buy the restaurant came from his savings, and another $3,000 was a scheduled payment for a job designing the logo of a department store.[7] Goode had no prior experience in managing a restaurant.[8]
Goode had competed in chuck wagon cook-offs,[3] and he was a known backyard barbecuer before he began his restaurant career.[2]
Restaurant career
Goode, his wife Liz, and his uncle Joe Dixie were the partners of the first restaurant, Goode Company Barbecue, which opened on Tuesday September 6, 1977, the first Tuesday after Labor Day.[2] Joe Dixie had served in the U.S. military in World War II and worked as a cook while he was held as a prisoner of war.[6] According to Goode, his restaurant was one of the first to use the mesquite grilling technique.[4] Goode and his uncle manned the barbecue pit, and Goode personally designed the logo.[2] Goode's son, Levi Goode, stated that initially his father and uncle "practically lived" at the restaurant and that it was a "24/7 job".[6]
The taqueria and hamburger restaurant opened in 1983 in a plot of land across the street from the barbecue barn; Goode had purchased the plot in 1982.[2] The seafood restaurant opened by 1986.[9] His wife Liz divorced in the 1980s and exited the business. Armadillo's opened in 2005. Goode had his central commissary established on Westpark Avenue.[2]
Personal life, death, and legacy
He served as a director of the
He died from
As of 2012[update] his son Levi Goode operates the Goode Company business.[10]
See also
- History of the Mexican-Americans in Houston
- Tex-Mex cuisine in Houston
References
- ^ Cook, Phaedra. "Houston Barbecue Icon Jim Goode Dies at Age 71. Houston Press. Monday February 8, 2016. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Morago, Greg. "Family-run Goode Company Restaurant has become a landmark." Houston Chronicle. Monday, October 29, 2012. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
- ^ : "Jim Goode's "Plugged" Brisket"
- ^ Emmis Communications, August 1992. Volume 20, No. 8, ISSN 0148-7736. Start p. 46.
- ^ a b c Hinchliffe, Emma. "Restaurant founder Goode, 71, made his brand a Houston classic" (Archive). Houston Chronicle. Monday February 8, 2016. Retrieved on February 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c Steinberg, Kaitlin. "Meet the First Families of Houston Food." Houston Press. Wednesday February 26, 2014. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
- ^ Houston Business Journal. February 8, 2016. Updated February 9, 2016. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
- ^ Rouege, Ciara. "Houston barbeque king James Goode dies at age 71." KPRC-TV. February 8, 2016. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
- ^ Cook, Allison. "Jim Goode: An Appreciation." Houston Chronicle. February 9, 2016. Retrieved on February 28, 2016.
- Houston Business Journal. May 4, 2012. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.