One of Bayville’s favorite eateries is bringing its beloved barbecue to Toms River in 2024. Smokies Craft BBQ is opening a second location in late winter or early spring of the new year, reports local media outlet WPST.
The popular restaurant will be serving up brisket, chicken, pork and sides at 49 Main Street. Smokies owner Dave Kaminski spoke with What Now Philadelphia about the draw of the location, stating “We have been looking for awhile to open a second location…timing wasn’t really one of our factors. We have been waiting for the right location to come along.”
The restaurateur has a personal connection to the area. He explains “Toms River is my home town. And being in downtown Toms River is an amazing opportunity! The township is really trying to grow downtown for the people, and we would love to be a part of that growth. “
Though smaller than the Bayville location, Smokies’ new space will allow Kaminski to experiment with new ideas. He tells future customers: “There will be few differences. The main menus will be the same. We will be having a student menu for lunch time, and we are also throwing around the idea of doing breakfast.” However, the dining area will be the greatest deviation. Kaminski says “The biggest difference will be seating. In our Bayville location we have a full dining room with 50+ seats, in Toms River we are going to be take-out based, with a max of 8 seats for quick service eating.”
Kaminski knows the smaller dining space may be jarring to existing fans, but is hopeful that the takeout model will still satisfy their hunger. He states “The experience will definitely be different due to our seating restrictions, but these days the majority of people do a lot of take out. So I just hope they keep loving the food we are putting out. That’s the most important part.”
The Toms River Smokies does not yet have an official opening date. Kaminski explains that the restaurant is still in the early stages of development. “We are still very early in the process.” he says, adding “The location needed to be zoned for restaurant use first, and now we are moving forward with our hood installation and plumbing. Being that we are right at holiday time, work will probably start early January.”
Future regulars will have a wide range of delicious options to choose from. Kaminski offers this guidance to customers struggling to choose which meal to enjoy: “Picking one dish is the hardest question for me to answer. But the majority of customers are in love with our mac and cheese and we make a mean mac bowl topped with pulled pork, pulled chicken, or chopped brisket.”
