Meet the founders of 2fifty: Fernando González and Debby Portillo

2fifty is Fernando González and Debby Portillo: he runs the fire, she runs the business. Both are from El Salvador, and they built the place from a farmers market stall.

Fernando: engineer first, then fire

Fernando trained as an engineer in El Salvador, then switched to barbecue. He studied the old Central Texas joints and built his own system around oak, time, and feel. No gas, no electric assist. "You cook by feel," as he puts it, and the rule at the smokehouse is "all wood, all good."

Debby: business and numbers

Debby Portillo Gonzalez grew up in restaurants before she ever thought of running one. A third-generation restaurateur, she learned the business first from her family’s kitchens in El Salvador and later through the language of numbers, operations, and strategy. Today, as co-founder of 2Fifty Texas BBQ, Debby is the force behind much of what happens beyond the smoker: she manages the business, guides its growth, watches the numbers, builds the systems, and helps turn Fernando’s culinary vision into a company that can grow without losing what made it special.

For Debby, heritage isn’t something 2Fifty puts on the wall; it shows up in how the business operates and in the food itself. “You can taste our heritage,” she says. “It’s in the beans we grew up eating, the plantains we fried for our family”.

That same perspective shapes the company she is building: one where people who may not arrive with traditional résumés, especially women and immigrants, can learn, take responsibility, and grow into leadership.

From a stall to two smokehouses

Fernando and Debby moved to the US in 2018 and started selling brisket by the tray at the Riverdale Park farmers market that November. In 2019 they took over the old Dumm's Pizza & Subs space nearby. They opened as a smokehouse in April 2020, carryout only at first, with outdoor seating added later that year. In January 2024 they opened a second location at 414 K Street NW in Washington, DC.

The fire never changed: both kitchens smoke over oak, low and slow. Their heritage is infused on their menu. Riverdale Park, Maryland, and 414 K Street NW, DC. Start with the menu or come by either one.