Waco’s longest continuously family owned now, 3rd generation barbeque restaurant was started in 1978 by Dan Henderson and partners F.E. “Buck” Massey and Elsie Dieterman. The original location was 1521 Wooded Acres Drive. Uncle Dan’s Barbeque really started to flourish in 1980 when Dan married Clara McNulty, a Baylor graduate and experienced restaurateur. Clara bringing in years of experience saw the opportunity to bring her “famous “Texas Tater, Smoked Turkey Breast, pulled pork and “now” famous white potato salad to Waco.
1988 was a turning point in Dan and Clara’s life when they decided to purchase Mr. Massey and Ms. Dieterman’s shares of Uncle Dan’s. The late 1980’s also brought off-premise catering and delivery to the Uncle Dan’s service line-up.
In 1990, Uncle Dan’s expanded to 231 North Hewitt Drive in order to more conveniently serve the populations of the Hewitt, Robinson and Lorena areas. Hewitt’s drive-through window has been and still is a big crowd-pleaser among Uncle Dan’s patrons. More Recent 2019, Uncle Dan’s has purchased the vacant lot next to the Hewitt location and is building a brand new building with new upgraded restrooms and more dining space.
In 1996, Dan and Clara bought the old Kelly’s Night Club building at 1001 Lake Air Drive. After completely remodeling the building and adding another drive-through window, Uncle Dan’s made the move to its new permanent location in May of 1998.
Dan and Clara Henderson have three children, Heather Osborne, Hillary Henderson and Dan Henderson Jr. In 2008, Dan Jr., graduated from the Conrad Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Mgmt. (at the University of Houston), Dan Jr. is actively involved in the business, and plans to continue the long standing Uncle Dan’s tradition.
With the new remodeling of the Waco location, Dan Jr. has put in place some newer ideas along with tradition by adding Prime Brisket Friday, a Brisket with a custom made rib spice. Along with it from Plantation Foods, the hand picked selected quality crest turkey breast that is now featured on the menu.
Along with our new remodeled restaurant, we are happy to announce we have added 2 more private dining rooms totaling 4, for our families and local businesses to enjoy the luxury of private dining.
Uncle Dan’s is proud to serve and operate in the Waco area, and look forward to many more years of delighting customers here in Central Texas.
