Franconia and Beeler Farms headline Pork & Pint Night at Ten 50 BBQ, April 9

Image credits: Ten50 BBQ, Franconia Brewing Co., Beeler's Pure Pork

Having been in the restaurant business for roughly 40 years, there probably isn't a whole lot that Larry Lavine hasn't seen when it comes to the field of food and drink. He founded Chili's back in 1975, but nowadays he's in the barbecue business as the man behind Ten 50 BBQ in Richardson.

Ten 50 opened in August 2014, something I reported on here during opening day as I offered up a quick synopsis of the new venture's craft beer offerings. Having an array of better beer, as you might imagine, is something Lavine hopes people will take notice of and see as an added feature. "We'll always be a restaurant first," he says, "but we've got twenty-four taps, which is more than a lot of similar places have, and when people come in I want them to know that they can get a good beer."

With that in mind, Ten 50 has begun taking steps in an effort to get its craft beer program a little more notice. A weekly pint night/glassware giveaway was instituted in December, which currently runs on Thursdays, starting at 4 p.m. As for what there is to drink, while Lavine admits he sells a fair number of macros, the availability of brands like Deep Ellum, Real Ale, Franconia and Rahr & Sons, insure customers have the option of pairing a pint of Texas beer with true Texas barbecue.

Along those lines, Ten 50 is hosting a special beer and barbecue event featuring brews from Franconia and meat from Beeler's Pure Pork. What will make the evening unique is the fact that the two companies have quite a few things in common. Both Franconia and Beeler Farms are built on long-standing family traditions. Franconia founder Dennis Wehrmann traces his brewing heritage to his great, great grandfather's brewery in the early 1800s, while it was Tim Beeler's great, great grandfather that started raising pigs on the family farmstead in 1846. Not only that, both men are descended from German ancestry.

Now, the companies will come together for Pork and Pint Night at Ten 50, which happens Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. Beeler and Franconia Brand Manager Bobby Brown will be on hand to tell the stories of each company, while attendees enjoy dinner and a flight of four Franconia beers. The meal will include slow-smoked pork, St. Louis ribs, Mac 'n Cheese, pinto beans and house-made banana pudding, with flights consisting of Franconia Amber, Wheat, Lemondrop Pilsner and Tripel Dunkel.

Cost is $25 per person and seating is limited. Call 972-234-1050 to make reservations.