A&M Barbecue gets a reprieve, but whether it will remain in Sebastopol is still an open question

Supporters of A&M BBQ's Kris Austin filled the city council chamber this week, asking the city to pause its zoning enforcement effort against this popular restaurant

The NAACP’s Kirstyne Lange (in the “BUT DID YOU VOTE?” t-shirt) rises to speak in support of Kris Austin, on her left, at this week’s Sebastopol City Council Meeting. (Photo by Laura Hagar Rush)

It’s difficult to adequately express the outpouring of love, admiration, and support that came Kris Austin’s way during public comment at this week’s Sebastopol City Council meeting.

The council chamber was packed, and the crowd spilled into the lobby beyond. A broad spectrum of community members—women and men, young and old, black and white—rose to express their support for Austin’s A&M BBQ.

A&M BBQ, which had been running its large smokers several hours a day, several days a week, has been the focus of more than a dozen complaints from neighbors about air pollution from the smoke in the area surrounding its south Main Street location. When city officials investigated these complaints, they realized that the property where A&M is located isn’t zoned for large commercial smokers. Although city officials have been working with Austin over several months to find a new location for him in Sebastopol, they haven’t had much luck. In May, the City sent a violation letter, demanding that he remove the smokers.

Many of the people who showed up to support Austin had heard about the issue in the local media—ranging from the Sebastopol Times and the PD to the San Francisco Chronicle and ABC News.

At the council meeting, supporters and local barbecue fans—some of whom were transplants from Texas, Louisiana, Kansas City and Missouri—rose to attest to both the authenticity of A&M’s cuisine and the warm community spirit that Austin has built at A&M.

“I’m actually from Texas, so I know good barbecue,” said Courtney Guntz-Summers of Veraision, a group working to diversify the wine industry. “I think we actually really need to take a step back and understand what they [A&M] are doing, who they’re providing for—for their staff, for those that come in for a safe space, for a good meal, for a great time, for home, because this feels like home…I think we all can just come together and allow them to continue to grow instead of shutting them down.”

Sebastopol resident Pam Oakes, who has lived in town for 54 years, said Austin’s experience is, unfortunately, emblematic of Sebastopol’s approach to local business.

“This community has changed and not for the better,” she said. “We used to celebrate people’s success; we celebrated people’s willingness to invest in this community, their time, their money, their families. We don’t do that anymore. We criticize and complain, and we honor those who complain more than the business owners. This town has spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out ‘How do we attract businesses to town?’ But you’re sending them away. You treat them badly. It is so difficult to do business in this town. I would ask you to go back to celebrating those of us who are willing to invest and willing to stick it out. Give that man a chance.”

Janelle Libertone, who leads birding trips for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC groups, read a letter she wrote to the city council about A&M.

“Kris is a generous member of our community who has done the impossible— finding a way to live and build a business in Sebastopol,” she said. “He’s doing very well, despite the challenges, and he deserves our support and generosity, not red tape and roadblocks. The way that this is being handled sends a clear message that this city is unfriendly to small businesses and black-owned businesses in particular.” That last line got applause.

Support for A&M seemed to span the political spectrum as well, ranging from a woman, who—in support of A&M—complained that Sebastopol had “sold out to capitalism” to a fellow named Phil Steinhauer, who wore a military police cap and a red, white and blue t-shirt that said, “I’d rather be represented by patriots that lose rather than traitors that win.”

“This man is thriving,” Steinhauer said of Austin. “He’s supporting the community, he’s supporting families. To shut this man down is an injustice to the community, and people on the outside—new businesses thinking about moving here—are going to go, ‘I’m not going there.’ Please do the right thing for this man.”

The crowd listened attentively when Kris Austin rose to speak at the podium:

We came to Sebastopol because we believe in this community and we believed it would be a place where a small business like ours would grow, contribute, and become a part of the fabric of the city. We have worked very hard every day to do exactly that. Like many small business owners, we’ve invested our savings, our time, countless hours working hard, building A&M BBQ. We’re not a large corporation, we’re local business owners and residents of Sebastopol. My kids are growing up here. We’re trying to provide for our families, create jobs, and just be a pillar in the community.

Over the past months, we’ve done our best to respond to concerns raised about our operation. We have cooperated with multiple inspections and complied with requests from city officials—my smokers are no longer on site—and made operational changes. We never refused to engage in the process or ignored it. We understand our business has grown, and we told you that from the beginning. In fact, we’ve openly acknowledged that we’ve outgrown this space, and we’ve been looking actively…for over a year for a new site.

Finding a suitable commercial property, securing payments, negotiating the lease, and relocating the business cannot happen overnight. It requires time, planning, and resources. We’re not asking for special treatment. We just ask for a fair opportunity to transition.

Kris Austin at A&M BBQ before he moved his smokers out of town. He is hoping the city will allow him to bring them back temporarily until his restaurant finds a new location. (Photo by Laura Hagar Rush)

Christine Lange of the Sonoma County Branch of the NAACP, said, “At its core, the issue is about more than the restaurant; it is about how local government engages with small businesses when challenges arise. This is about ensuring that decisions are guided by facts, clear communication, and due process, rather than confusion, speculation, or private conversations that leave stakeholders uncertain about where they stand.”

She called for a collaborative meeting that includes city leadership, relevant staff, the owners of A&M BBQ, community stakeholders, and representatives from the NAACP.

“The goal should not be to determine winners or losers,” she said. “The goal should be to identify practical solutions that address community concerns, while allowing a valued local business the opportunity to transition and succeed. As one of the few black-owned businesses in this community, A&M BBQ and Kris’s experience sends a message about whether diverse entrepreneurs are welcome, supported, and treated equitably.”

None of the neighbors who complained about the smoke from A&M BBQ were in evidence at this meeting—though they might have been watching online. Admittedly, this would’ve been a tough crowd to pitch that case to.

At the end of public comment, City Manager Mary said the city had hit the pause button on enforcement efforts.

“I have been in touch with Kris, and I have let him know that, while we’re working on doing this together, we [the City] are not doing anything—like closing you down or anything like that. We’re going to try to work together collaboratively to see what we can do. We’re going to set up a meeting so we can talk about options going forward.”

What happens next?

In the meantime, attempting to comply with the City’s requirement that he move both smokers off the property, Austin moved them to a rural property—a wedding venue—three miles outside of town.

“I’ve had to make six trips today back and forth to Sebastopol,” he said. “I drive a diesel truck, so gas for me is right now almost $8 per gallon. I’ve spent $300 in the last two days.”

Austin said he’s been working around the clock—barbecuing, smoking meats, and driving them back and forth to his restaurant. When we spoke with him, he said that between cooking and driving, he’d barely slept in more than 24 hours.

“I wanted to do this to kind of show them what that’s going to cost and what that looks like,” he said. “This isn’t even week one, this is day one—but I can already tell, I can’t keep this up.”

Austin and his partner Finn Liss continue to look for a new location, but thus far, that hasn’t appeared.

“I just want to be able to have my smokers back [at the Main Street restaurant] and continue my work until I find a new location,” Austin said.

He is resigned to the fact that he may not be able to keep A&M BBQ in Sebastopol. Other cities have reached out to him, offering to help him find a new place in their town, and at this point, he’s looking hard at all his options.

“What I’m seeking now is a place that we can call home—our own oasis where we have our own parking lot, we have our own building, we’re free from anyone that could possibly be disturbed—and just create a peaceful destination for the business,” he said.

Even if he has to move his business out of town, Austin said he’ll still be a part of the Sebastopol community.

“Regardless of how this turns out or what happens, I’m still going to be very active in Sebastopol,” he said. “My kids play sports here, my kids go to school here. So it’s never going to stop me from being a help and the same person that I’ve been in the community since way before I ever opened the restaurant. That won’t change.”

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