For nearly a year, a familiar New Braunfels restaurant has been transformed into one of the city's most anticipated new barbecue spots.
The former Los Cucos Mexican Restaurant sat vacant before crews began gutting the building in fall 2025. At first, a city permit offered only one clue about what was coming: a new "BBQ Restaurant."
Days later, Terry Black's Barbecue confirmed it was taking over the property.
Since then, the building has gone from a shuttered Mexican restaurant to a two-story smokehouse with a covered outdoor deck and a 1,400-square-foot pit house.
Here's a look at the transformation through MySA's construction photos.
Inside, the old restaurant was stripped down, with crews removing much of what remained from its days as Los Cucos.
By March, the building had been gutted to its bones. Outside, Terry Black's signage offered the first clear visual sign of what was coming.
Then, the project shifted from demolition to rebuilding.
Plans called for a nearly 8,000-square-foot restaurant, an attached pit house and a two-story outdoor dining area. The project was estimated at $5 million. By June, the new structure was becoming easier to recognize.
A month later, windows and exterior additions gave the building an even closer resemblance to the finished restaurant, while the two-story outdoor area continued to take shape.
Now, the work is nearly finished.
In less than a year, the former Los Cucos has gone from a vacant Mexican restaurant to a new Terry Black's smokehouse - a transformation that is now nearly complete as the September 15 opening nears.
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This article originally published at Terry Black's Barbecue is transforming this New Braunfels property.