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A star football player has decided there may be something more important than the game: good barbecue.
Standing 5-foot-8 and weighing just 170 pounds, Buffalo Bills do-it-all wide receiver and return man Isaiah McKenzie doesn’t give off football player vibes, and he is happy about that. Working at his barbecue restaurant, La Traila, he just wants to bring the joy of good food to his customers.
“I just want to be normal,” McKenzie said. “It’s barbecue and beer; you can’t beat it. Miami is great at Latin food, but not barbecue. Definitely not like Texas. Living here, I would go to Outback Steakhouse or Flanagan’s to get ribs — I thought that was barbecue. I didn’t know about brisket or pulled pork. But I know it well now.”
In early 2020, McKenzie met his eventual business partner, Austin, Texas-born pitmaster Mel Rodriguez, who taught the fifth-year NFL star about the restaurant business.
McKenzie and Rodriguez aren’t the types that usually run in the same circle, but as chance would have it, Rodriguez ended up dating the sister of McKenzie’s close childhood friend. They met at a family function just before the pandemic shut down the country, where Rodriguez cooked for everyone, and McKenzie remarked that he had a dream to invest some of his hard-earned football money into a food truck.
As the pandemic was raging and businesses were having trouble staying open, the pair decided to wait on opening a full restaurant, and instead opened a few pop-ups (temporary retail spots).
In the Spring of 2021, they finally got their dream as everything began to reopen.
McKenzie, 26, funded the start-up money for La Traila, while Rodriguez runs the actual restaurant full-time. Together, the two decided to bring real Texas barbecue to South Florida.
“When I moved to Miami, I realized barbecue here isn’t very good,” said Rodriguez, who moved to the area from Austin four years ago. “We’re ahead of what people expect, so we have wiggle room, but I told my staff I don’t want to just make good barbecue. I want to make damn good barbecue.”
Despite the fact that McKenzie is the de facto spokesman, football celeb, and face of the restaurant, the 2017 fifth-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos tells customers he “just works here.”
The restaurant opened on the Saturday before memorial day, and business was booming, with many customers happily waiting around 2 hours for some delicious barbecue. This is unusual in South Florida, as the area specializes in a variety of food, but is definitely not known for its barbecue.
ESPN writes:
“It’s a humid, 88-degree day, and the line outside at La Traila Barbeque is more than a hundred people deep an hour after doors opened for the first time on the Saturday before Memorial Day.
People happily waited — roughly two hours — with anticipation for something many had not tasted before. South Florida specializes in a variety of food, but premier barbecue isn’t one of them.
‘What is brisket?’ one patron asked out loud, reading the digital menu on her phone. After ordering it, she fell in love. Another man walked out with a to-go plate, calling it the best barbecue he’s ever had.”
This success didn’t just last for the first day. Months later, customers are still lining up an hour before the restaurant opens just to get a taste of their delicious barbecue.
“Isaiah and I are a good mix,” Rodriguez said. “We both know our strengths. When he’s here, he’s great with customers. He’s humble. He takes pictures with customers if they ask. But he’ll work the register. He’ll serve food at pop-ups. He loves that. People come to see him. I’m behind the scenes running the day-to-day, and of course, cooking.”
If you live in or visit the Miami area, La Traila Barbecue is an excellent spot to check out. Let us know how you like it!
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