Restaurant featuring Texas-style barbecue with twist opens in mall area
Aug. 8, 2023
One year after starting a food truck specializing in smoked meat sandwiches, Ryan Gaede and Jess Jones have opened a restaurant, hoping to create a gathering place where everyone feels welcome.
The Smoked Culture BBQ & Brews is in the former BB’s Pub N Grill space at 49th Street and Westport Avenue.
“When you come, you’re going to see our twist on Texas-style barbecue and how unique the space is,” said Gaede, who is married to Jones. “It was really important to us that everyone’s included, everyone’s welcome to have a seat at our table.”
They’ve filled the space with skateboard-inspired art and other touches throughout. Some of the tables are made out of wood from old bowling alley lanes.
Their menu features appetizers, street tacos, sandwiches and platters featuring their slow-smoked meats of turkey, pulled pork, brisket and bacon brisket. Side dishes include the likes of hash browns, baked beans, spicy street corn and green bean and cornbread casseroles.
Some of those side dishes are family recipes or twists on them: Gaede’s grandmother is the creator of Cici’s Baked Beans, his mother of Mar Mar’s Green Beans and his sister of the Culture Corn Bread.
Offering fresh bites, there’s coleslaw with cabbage, jalapeno, onion, cilantro and lime juice and a chopped salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, kalamata olives and feta.
The food truck favorites are there like the No Comply Nachos and The 5 Ohhh pulled pork sandwich along with additions like shrimp skewers, bacon brisket and the meat platters.
They’ve added a kids menu with a pulled pork sandwich, sloppy joe, cheese quesadilla and loaded hash browns. See the full menu here.
Eventually, there will be daily features like ribs, smoked chickens and ribs. “The plan is to do wings on Wednesdays, but not right away,” Gaede said. “We’ll grow into that.”
Those features will be limited in quantity. “Once they’re gone they’re gone.” That will create a sense of urgency to drive in customers, he noted.
And that’s going to be true for much of the menu because of the almost full day it takes to smoke the meats.
They’ll keep the food truck – at least for now because of a few upcoming events that have been booked for a long time.
“After that, we’re really not quite sure,” Gaede said. “The staffing issue is probably what concerns us the most.”
At the restaurant, hours to start are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Those Sunday hours might expand during football season, although the TVs usually will feature skateboard, snowboard and BMX events, Gaede noted. Customers can follow The Smoked Culture on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
If customers enjoy hanging out in the bar area – it has 12 tap lines with beer, seltzer and iced tea – The Smoked Culture might stay open later and offer a separate bar menu for food, he said.
For beer on tap, there are four local and region craft brews, Coors, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Leinekugel’s Summer Shandy, Blue Moon Belgian White and New Belgium’s 1554 and Voodoo Ranger IPA.
“Eventually, we’ll expand to cans and bottles,” Gaede said. “We’re definitely going to want to lean into cool beers, something different.”
The restaurant seats about 90, with overflow seating that could hold about a dozen more. The patio on the east side of the building is filled with seven picnic tables.
“We want everyone to have a great time, just like you would at a backyard barbecue,” Gaede said.
