The owners of Evanston sandwich-and-burger mainstay, Bat 17, are bringing something different to the city: authentic Texas-style barbeque.

The new restaurant, Falcon Eddy’s Barbeque, opened Wednesday just around the corner from Bat 17 on Church Street. It will offer everything from brisket and ribs to classic sides like macaroni and cheese and jalapeno cornbread.

In the Texas style, all the meats are dry rubbed, slow smoked with hardwood and served with sauce on the side, co-owner Jim Pomerantz said.

“I’m just looking forward to exposing Evanston to the best barbeque they’ve ever seen,” Pomerantz, who has spent time living in Texas, said.

Jim Hurley, the other owner, said the pair had thought about opening a barbeque restaurant earlier but had never found the right timing or place.

When the space on Church Street — located in the same building and under the same landlord as Bat 17 — became available, things began to fall into place.

“We’ve been kicking around the idea of a barbeque place here in town for awhile and just hadn’t really found the right opportunity,” Hurley said. “When the place opened up that was perfect for us we jumped at it.”

For Pomerantz, the restaurant was also an opportunity to finally use the name “Falcon Eddy’s.” Pomerantz said he has thought it would be a good restaurant name since watching the 1970s TV show, “Rich Man, Poor Man,” which features a character named Anthony Falconetti. The distinctive logo for the restaurant — a falcon wearing an eyepatch — is also inspired by the TV show, in which the character wore an eyepatch.

Downtown Evanston executive director Annie Coakley said the organization often promotes Evanston as the “dining capital of the North Shore,” and new restaurants like Falcon Eddy’s support that claim.

She added that the Hurley and Pomerantz have “longevity” in Evanston and know the market well.

“We’re always happy to see a new restaurant coming in, especially someone who has already been a successful business operator,” Coakley said. “We’re very optimistic that (they) will have another successful venture in downtown Evanston so we’re thrilled for that.”

Hurley said they have spent a long time working on recipes and doing trial runs of the food to perfect their barbeque, noting that they had to move back the opening date of the restaurant to make sure they “got it right.” He said barbeque requires a lot of “feel,” versus science.

Now that it has been perfected, Hurley said he is “psyched” about the food Falcon Eddy’s will be serving. Pomerantz echoed this — he said is excited to see the response in Evanston to their “killer barbeque food.”

“It’s been coming out so good,” Pomerantz said. “It’s an out of body experience.”

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