It all began in a poker game.

In the mid-1960's, Michael Schroeder was in Austin, Texas, engaged in his favorite pastime. Another player, short on cash but long on nerve, covered Schroeder's bet by offering "half my restaurant." Schroeder's three 3's beat a pair of queens. When it was time to pay up, the owner of the barbeque restaurant insisted that he meant "half the space," not a "half interest." Schroeder's "half" was an empty room in the back.

Angered by the sleazy tactic, Schroeder collected his grandmother's barbeque recipes and set up a restaurant-within-a-restaurant.

Customers were aware of the shared-space arrangement. And, although his seating space was limited to 40 people, his barbeque was so superior that customers were soon asking specifically to be seated in the back forty. Business in the front section dwindled; Schroeder bought out the owner and turned it into a legendary barbeque chain.

In the early 1970's, he sold the restaurant and moved to Las Vegas to pursue professional gambling. To assure some financial security, he opened an almost-duplicate restaurant called, THE BACK FORTY TEXAS BBQ. It was there that he met the Erb brothers — Bill and Jeff — who began planning a California BACK FORTY. After training extensively with Schroeder, they opened the original California BACK FORTY in Pleasant Hill in December 1978.

In 1985, Jeff Erb bought out his brother, refined the restaurant menu and focused on catering service.

Jeff and his BACK FORTY BBQ Team travel regularly to compete in contests against the nation's finest barbeque operations.

As one of the nation's Top-24 Barbeque Teams, BACK FORTY has been invited to compete in the National Rib Cook-Off every year since 1991.

The 24-member panel of judges regularly votes BACK FORTY the #1 Barbeque In California and TWICE voted BACK FORTY's Barbeque Sauce as BEST IN THE NATION!

More than 400,000 people attend the 4-day event. After sampling barbeque prepared by all competitors, they voted BACK FORTY's — THE BEST!

To help spread the legend, more BACK FORTY's were needed. So, in 1993, BACK FORTY opened in Shingle Springs, CA, beside Highway 50, on the way to Lake Tahoe. And since 1995, BACK FORTY has been serving Reno-bound travelers at the Roseville, CA location, conveniently situated beside Interstate 80. At the end of 2000, a fourth BACK FORTY opened, off of Interstate 680, in the city of San Ramon, CA.

In 2007, Back Forty Pleasant Hill became even bigger and bolder with the opening of the 16,000 square-foot Roadhouse & Saloon. Located 20 miles up Interstate 680 from San Ramon, the flagship Roadhouse & Saloon includes a Texas-sized dining room, two bars and a live music & banquet hall.

Visit a BACK FORTY soon, and enjoy the made-from-scratch recipes of Grandma Schroeder!