Rusted Silo Southern BBQ & Brew House

This restaurant housed in a tiny building next to the railroad tracks started small and remains that way today. Owner Rob Ecker, who serves as pit master and chef, brings his culinary knowledge along with a neighborly, do-it-right-every-time attitude to this central Indiana spot. Simply put, Rusted Silo Southern BBQ & Brew House serves some of Indiana’s best barbecue.  

Ecker, who was raised in the South, has been cooking since he was 8 years old. He attended culinary school and spent years as a chef that included time working at upscale restaurants for Disney. But the 2008 recession and jobs in other industries eventually brought Ecker and his wife, Tina, to the Hoosier State. 

Then that old building next to the railroad tracks called to him. Rusted Silo — just 1,700 square feet of space with 30 seats — opened in 2018. Ecker’s Rollin’ Silo food truck followed. The restaurant’s menu is small, unpretentious and filling. The meats span slow-cooked barbecue favorites: beef brisket, pork butt, smoked chicken and ribs. Sides include mac-n-beer cheese, collard greens, ranch beans and cheese grits. Desserts are bourbon pecan pie, Mama June’s Nanner Puddin and peach cobbler. Ecker adds that the menu is locally sourced as much as possible. 

The restaurant also has a component of giving back. The staff is well paid, so tips go to a community fund, and the Rollin’ Silo traveled to Kentucky in December 2021 to feed tornado victims. 

All of it adds up to a feel-good spot. And those trains that rumble by? Occasionally, they’ll stop for dinner, too. As Ecker likes to say, “We’re one of the few restaurants with ribs that are so good it can stop a train in its tracks.” 411 N. State St., Lizton, Indiana 46149, 317/994-6145, rustedsilobrewhouse.com