Duke City BBQ fires up second Albuquerque location

One of Albuquerque’s popular barbecue joints is bringing its smoky meats and sauces to another area in the Duke City.

Duke City BBQ, known for engaging taste buds with its comfort food, opened a second location at the Bridges on Tramway development on Thursday.

“It came open, and I had a lot of people from the Heights requesting that we go up there,” said the restaurant’s owner, Esteban Quezada. The new location is at 12501 Candelaria NE.

Quezada, originally from El Paso, honed his culinary smoking skills and became a master of the meats during the COVID pandemic, primarily serving friends and family. With encouragement from those close to him, and with the help of restaurant developer Yogesh Patel, Quezada opened the barbecue joint in 2023 at 5500 San Mateo NE.

“I love the food,” Quezada told the Journal. “Food makes people happy and I like seeing people happy.”

Duke City BBQ’s second location inhabits Suite G1 of the Bridges on Tramway. The Northeast Heights development also houses The Paleta Bar, Tako Ten, Thai Street and a Boxing Bear Brewing Co. taproom.

The new location has hired five employees so far. It’s open seven days a week, though business hours have not yet been set as the restaurant and its owner adjust to the new location.

Quezada said the goal is to have the Candelaria location’s hours eventually be the same as the San Mateo location.

The new location offers the same menu items, including brisket sandwiches, coleslaw, mac and cheese, corn on the cob and more.

Quezada said not much is different across the locations, though he did say both stores reflect a recent price increase.

A third location is currently in the works, but Quezada is waiting until the negotiations regarding that potential spot are further along before he shares more.

The Duke City BBQ owner said he is excited about the growth and envisions the barbecue business “serving more people comfort food that makes them happy” over the next few years.