No other steakhouse in Dallas has a Texas lineage dating back to the same era in which the city of Dallas was founded. A Dallas steakhouse with a true Texas lineage born from cattle ranching, an industry synonymous with the Lone Star State. Cattle ranching has been a part of Texas for nearly three centuries. As early as the late 1600s, Spaniards brought cattle stock in with their entradas. By the 1840s men who came to Texas to become farmers quickly realized cattle could thrive on the vast Texas land and became ranchers instead. It was during this time the legendary Y.O. Ranch was born, and centuries later one of the best restaurants in Dallas would also bear the same, legendary name. The Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse.
Cattle Ranching Booms in Texas
1867 was the beginning of the “Beef Bonanza” in Texas. Thanks to the railways in Texas reaching out to Kansas, ranchers could ship cattle to new markets across the country. After the Civil War cattle in Texas only sold for around $1.50 a head. However, the markets back on the east coast demanded $30.00 to $40.00 per head. Texas cattle ranchers would make giant profits by driving their herds up to Kansas. It’s estimated over ten million heads of cattle were herded out of Texas from the 1860s to the 1880s.
Cattle Ranching in the 1900s
During World War I the Texas cattle market skyrocketed again with demand for beef soaring. Only a few years later however it would suffer a giant blow along with the rest of the country due to stock market crash of Black Tuesday in 1929. Thanks to government programs in the early 1930s to buy and kill unhealthy cattle from the herds, Texas cattle ranchers could take that money and invest it back into their cattle. By the 1950s, Texas cattle ranchers were exporting cattle all over the world and it was normal for a ranch to also include sheep and other livestock within its fences. This wasn’t the only way cattle ranchers diversified their ranches. During the devastating drought of the 1950s, both farmers and cattle ranchers were hit with losses worse than the Dust Bowl years. To compensate for this economic downturn, Myrtle Schreiner with the Y.O. Ranch, along with her son Charlie III by her side, became the first Texas rancher to lease land to hunters, now a very common practice among landowners.
The Y.O. Ranch and the Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse
The Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse in Dallas’ West End is known for its amazing steaks and wild game selection for customers to choose from. The Y.O. brand is rich in the cattle ranching history of Texas. When guests dine at the Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse in downtown Dallas, they can expect steaks and other meats prepared using methods similar to the ones ranch hands have been using for more than 125 years. To experience this Texas heritage for yourself contact us now for more information and reservations.
