Greg Gatlin

Greg Gatlin, St. Thomas class of 1998, was a standout football player who went on to play defensive back for the Rice Owls, earning a degree in economics and sports management in 2002. After a career in commercial real estate and three years learning the restaurant business at Pappadeaux, he followed his family’s culinary roots and opened Gatlin’s BBQ in 2010 with his parents Henry and Mary in a tiny eight-seat cottage on West 19th Street in the Heights.

Word spread through social media and Rice University connections, and demand snowballed. By 2015, Gatlin’s BBQ moved to larger quarters on Ella Boulevard. That same year, Greg partnered with fellow STHS alumnus Bryan Caswell ’91 to open Jackson Street BBQ near Minute Maid Park. In 2022, he expanded again with Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers in Independence Heights, featuring fried chicken and Gulf Coast seafood.

Greg has earned recognition from Texas Monthly, Food & Wine, and a James Beard semifinalist nod for Best Chef: Texas. He’s been featured on Netflix’s “High on the Hog” and appeared as a guest judge on Food Network’s “Top Chef.”