Space City BBQ.
For barbecue entrepreneurs getting their start in a trailer, tending the coals and wrapping briskets in the 100-degree heat of a Texas summer is literally trial-by-fire.
It’s the ultimate meritocracy — pitmasters who can make world-class barbecue in this extreme environment will often go on to open a successful brick-and-mortar restaurant where, if they’ve planned ahead, may include an air-conditioned pit room.
Such is the trajectory of Logan Glenn, owner and pitmaster at the Space City BBQ trailer located on a dusty, sunbaked stretch of a farm-to-market road east of the Grand Parkway in Baytown.
Glenn, 33, has been quietly building toward this moment for more than a decade. Raised in east Houston and a graduate of North Shore High School, Glenn discovered his love for cooking while participating in a culinary program there. A team cooking competition in his senior year earned him a modest scholarship to San Jacinto College’s culinary program.
After graduation, Glenn worked as a corporate chef before landing at Oak Leaf Smokehouse, a short-lived barbecue joint on Telephone Road.
“That was my real introduction to barbecue,” Glenn recalls. As kitchen manager, he helped overhaul a struggling menu, experimenting with smoked duck and introducing what became their signature dish, fried mac-and-cheese balls stuffed with brisket.
From there, Glenn’s resume grew to include stints at Big Woodrow’s, SweetCup Gelato, and a formative experience with the Chi’Lantro BBQ food truck.
“That’s what really got me into wanting to have a food truck or trailer,” he said.
After a few farmers markets and catering gigs, a lucky break came when he acquired a barbecue trailer from friend and mentor David Welch at Fire Craft BBQ in Atascocita who had recently opened a brick-and-mortar after years of paying dues in that same trailer.
Space City BBQ officially opened on April 18, 2024 — Glenn’s birthday. “I didn’t plan it that way,” he laughs. “But it ended up being the best birthday present I could ask for.” The trailer sits just minutes from his home, and that proximity has allowed Glenn to pour himself into the business full-time.
For now, the clientele is mostly local, with a few hardcore Houston barbecue fans making the trek east to check out the great smoked meats they’ve been hearing about from fellow barbecue explorers.
Glenn is cooking the meats on a Southern Pride wood-burning smoker attached to the trailer, though he has a 500-gallon offset smoker on order.
Side dishes are all made in-house. Burnt-end pinto beans and corn bread casserole were standouts on a recent visit.
The sausage is exceptional, thanks to a recipe exchange with the team at Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q in Spring. “I gave them one of my ice cream recipes, they gave me sausage — it was a perfect trade,” he says.
The boudin is also noteworthy — stuffed with more shredded meat than rice, something you usually find in Louisiana rather than Texas.
Another standout is the Space Jam burger, made with an inch-thick, smoked-and-seared brisket patty topped with a melted slice of American cheese and a sweet bacon-and-onion jam.
Desserts are a work in progress, mainly because he wants to build on his experience making ice cream and gelato — something that isn’t currently possible in the high temperature of the trailer.
Even though the trailer is only open for business three days a week, Glenn still works a full seven days to prep and cook a menu that’s all made from scratch.
“People ask if I’m doing this part-time,” Glenn says. “There’s no such thing as part-time in barbecue.”
Go visit Logan at his trailer in Baytown (check his social media for current location) and come see him at the HOUBBQ Festival on 4-12-26.
Pre-sale discount tickets on sale now! https://houbbq2026.eventbrite.com