The owners and operators of a new barbeque joint hope that the third time will be a charm for a Denison restaurant building. Wheeler Barbeque in Denison recently opened its doors with a quiet, soft opening earlier this month.
Wheeler Barbeque is the most recent restaurant to move into the building at 211 N. U.S. Highway 75 in Denison. The building was previously the home of Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers and more recently Heritage Butchery & Barbeque, which closed in June 2024.
“When I open a restaurant — and I have always done this, even for Tender (Smokehouse)— we really don’t tell anybody when we are opening,” owner and operator Dante Ramirez said. “We just kind of hit the open sign and let it happen just so we don’t get bombarded.”
By Wednesday, word of Denison’s new eatery had gotten out and Ramirez said he has seen strong business since the opening.
For Ramirez, Wheeler is the latest step in a career that has revolved around both food service and hospitality. For nearly 30 years, he has worked and operated multiple restaurants around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex but recently downsized to just two — Wheeler Barbeque and LaLa’s Taqueria in Prosper.
“I’ve been in the restaurant industry my whole career,” he said. “This is all I’ve done, so I am 56 now.”
Ramirez got his start in the restaurant business when he was 16. From there, he went on to study restaurant, hotel and institutional management at Texas Tech. He would later move to Dallas about 30 years ago to work in the hotel industry before making his move to Mary Kay.
“Really, the whole combination of the hotel industry and Mary Kay was really a hyper focus on service, like really focusing on service,” he said it a sentiment that is shared in the restaurant industry.
About eight years ago, Ramirez opened Tender Smokehouse in Celina.
At the time, he was told that the site was a bad choice for a restaurant. However, Tender found its footing and its fans. In 2019, the restaurant was ranked second in Yelp’s “Best Places to Eat” list and 16th in its list of top 100 barbeque restaurants in 2024.
With his latest venture, people expressed their surprise as Ramirez turned his attention north of the Metroplex toward Sherman and Denison. However, he said he saw promise in what Texas Instruments and other industries were bringing to Texoma. The move also allowed him to move closer to his wife’s hometown.
“Statistically, if you become successful in our industry, you start going toward more dense markets like Dallas, like Plano, right,” he said. “The reason we chose this is purely because of my wife. She was born in Sherman and has a lot of family here in Sherman and in Denison, and we are now getting into our golden years, I guess you can say. So, we want to retire somewhere where we want to live.”
Ramirez said he was initially looking for a location in downtown Denison for a new LaLa’s location. While he initially scouted the former Frank and Lola’s building, it was quickly purchased by Lettuce Indulge for its latest location. Ramirez was then told about another option along US Highway 75.
The former burger joint and butchery was better suited for something like a barbeque spot, Ramirez said, and he returned to his background in BBQ for Wheelers. While the building is second hand, Ramirez said it came with some benefits in that it was still in good shape and likely cost less than a new building.
“LaLa’s is a newer construction building and had a tenant in it less time than here, but I spent more money on 1,800 square feet to get that place open than I did here,” he said.
With regard to the previous track record for the site, Ramirez said he doesn’t buy into the reputation. While some sites may be more difficult, good service and food can make up for these shortfalls.
“Could there be a bad location? Yes, I am not going to say there can’t be, but I firmly believe that you can just give good service and give good food,” he said.
