A critically-acclaimed BBQ concept is opening a brick-and-mortar location: Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q, a food truck founded in 2018, will open a stand-alone restaurant in Allen at Watters Creek Village.

The restaurant represents a partnership between Vaqueros founder Arnulfo "Trey" Sanchez and M Crowd Restaurant Group, known for neighborhood restaurants such as Mi Cocina, which also has a location at Watters Creek. M Crowd will support Sanchez to expand his Grapevine-based food truck into a stand-alone restaurant.

According to a release, it'll open in 2024.

M Crowd Restaurant Group President and CEO Edgar Guevara says in a statement that he's "excited to partner with Trey to allow his creations to soon land on even more plates across North Texas."

"Trey's take on Texas barbecue is unique, one-of-a-kind, and above all authentic," Guevara says.

Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q currently sets up Thursday-Sunday at Hop & Sting Brewery, but Sanchez has more than 36 years of barbecue experience, including helping his father launch a barbecue restaurant in the '90s: Arnold’s Texas Bar-B-Q, which was open from 1989-1999 at 601 N. Haskell Ave., the space that went on to become Petra and the Beast.

The affable Sanchez has also been an elementary school teacher and a stay-at-home dad.

“I have had a hand in sharing my family’s Texas style and classic barbecue with the people of Dallas-Fort Worth since 1987,” Sanchez says.

Spanish for "cowboys," Vaqueros has garnered lots of attention in its short existence, with Sanchez' work earning nods in national publications and TV shows including The New York Times, Taste of Texas, The Cooking Channel’s Man Fire Food, and Man’s Greatest Food.

The menu features classics like brisket and ribs, but also twists like tacos in rotating flavors, brisket nachos, and smoked cochinita pibil. Their version of the trendy BBQ birria is what generated the biggest buzz: It was featured on Cooking Channel's Man Fire Food & Man's Greatest Food; Texas Monthly Top 20 Bites of 2020; and Cooking Channel's Man's Greatest Food's #14 Cheesy Dish in USA.

Vaquero's sides are also creative: apple gorgonzola slaw, Texas trail beans, smoked refritos, homestyle potato salad, spicy cucumber salad, jalapeño mac & cheese, hickory smoked elote, garlic cilantro rice, and cowboy potatoes.

In addition to showcasing Sanchez’s diverse culinary mastery, the menu will also feature margaritas, frozen paloma, and beer.

As with all other M Crowd projects, the design of the space will be tailored to fit the Allen neighborhood.

"I am thrilled to join forces with Edgar and believe that this partnership will allow me to take my establishment to the next level and focus on the part of the business that I love most," Sanchez says.