in 2011, cooper's was one of five restaurants representing central texas in patricia schultz's "1,000 places to see in the usa and canada before you die". in 2015, the daily meal ranked cooper's #10 on its list of best barbecue ribs in the united states. in 2016, food critic and "legends of texas barbecue cookbook" author robb walsh named cooper's #8 on his list of 10 favorite texas barbecue spots. in 2017, "usa today" declared cooper's the winner of its readers choice award in the category "best bbq brisket sandwich in texas".