ABOUT US
 

Gordon Campbell, a Texas native, opened The Amarillo in Omaha, NE in 1987. It was an iconic, nationally known restaurant for 22+ years. During that time The Amarillo has had as its guests, or catered, some of the most famous names in the entertainment industry. They included Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn and many more.

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Gordon decided to retire and in December 2010 auctioned off memorabilia, restaurant equipment, and most importantly the intellectual property (the name/brand, recipes, procedures, and techniques); which we bought along with a few other items. Our initial plans were to reopen the restaurant in Omaha. However, soon after our purchase we learned of our impending relocation to the Pacific Northwest for work, so we sadly held off.
 

We’ve been in WA since January 2014, and spent that time getting to know the area and searching for the right location to finally realize our dream of reopening The Amarillo. We chose the old Paradise Tavern in Monroe for a couple of reasons. 1) We love the small town feel in the community, and 2) The Paradise Tavern had exactly the look and history we were after. We pretty much gutted the interior and redesigned the kitchen size and layout which took longer than we had hoped.  As with most 115-year-old buildings we ran into a few "surprises" along the way.  We kept the beautiful and original bar as the centerpiece of the building. The location also allowed us to construct a separate smokehouse building which we attached to the back of the old tavern.  There we have installed two larger commercial rotisserie smokers that burn wood logs as the cooking source. 

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We kept with the same wood Gordon used, hickory logs shipped in from Texas.  This way we can replicate the same flavor profile using our unique proprietary sauces and rubs. We hope you will stop in and enjoy what we have built and savor the many original Amarillo recipes and some unique new items that we’ve added.

 

UPDATE:  Our journey continues with a move to Duvall, WA.  Our original start in Monroe has ended as the building had sold and the lease was not renewed.  Therefore, what started out as an expansion to Duvall ended up being a relocation.  Same great food at a new, smaller, but fun location.  Look for Amarillo Barbecue now on Main Street (HWY 203) and NE Stephens Street in Duvall, WA.  We look forward to seeing you!