RICHMOND, Va. β The Smoky Mug recently opened its new location along North Avenue off Brookland Park Boulevard in Richmond.
Co-owners Dan Lee and Ryan Maynes recently appeared on the Eat It, Virginia podcast to discuss their coffee shop and barbecue restaurant concept and what it took to expand from the original, and much smaller location, to the new restaurant space.
The restaurant's origin story began during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 when Maynes, then a paving superintendent, invited Lee and his wife over for dinner.
Maynes had smoked a brisket in his backyard, and Lee brought bourbon to share.
"Dan's like, Hey, I was thinking about opening a coffee shop, but there's a space there that we can do coffee and barbecue, and God bless our wives, because they thought they were like, these drunk guys are not going to do it," Maynes said. "The very next day, I think we started getting into stuff, and it happened real fast."
Lee, who grew up in the Richmond metro area after being born in Korea, had been eyeing the neighborhood coffee shop space next to another business he was involved with. The timing worked out when the coffee shop owner reached out during the same period Lee was struggling with COVID-19's impact on his other business.
"It was just like, kind of serendipitous how it happened," Lee said. "And so after having had the food, talking to Ryan... I was like, well, we've got this opportunity."
Maynes learned his barbecue skills growing up in Clayton, New Mexico, a small town so close to Texas that "you could throw a brisket into Texas" from my parents' front door, he said.
"The town I grew up in, to give you an idea how small it was, I graduated 42 kids in my high school class," Maynes said. "We didn't have much, but we had a sense of community and family, and barbecue was always that for us."
The partners started in a 1,400-square-foot building with mostly kitchen space, a small counter service area, and a large patio. The new location spans 3,000 square feet on the main floor with additional basement storage, expanding from 8 indoor seats to 35 in the dining room, plus a 10-seat bar and a 25-seat lounge area.
For their first location, Maynes built his own smoker from a decommissioned 500-gallon propane tank he found for $100.
After visiting ZZQ barbecue restaurant in Richmond for inspiration, he spent 6 weeks welding and constructing the custom smoker with help from friends.
"I put my head in the smokers. I probably spent 20 minutes there," Maynes said about his ZZQ visit. "And I walked out, and I was, I was like, All right, I guess I got enough to build this and it it cooks very, very well."
The restaurant combines Texas-style barbecue with Virginia and North Carolina influences.
Maynes uses Carolina vinegar sauce with some Southwest seasonings, adding lime and lemon to create a fusion approach that honors both regional traditions.
"You want to be familiar to people and maybe put a little spin on it, and so I think we do that pretty well," Maynes said.
The new space has allowed the restaurant to expand its pastry program, with one of their managers being a trained pastry chef who now has the equipment and space to create items like biscuits and churro cookies with brisket.
Lee emphasized that their success stems from focusing on service, hospitality, and community building rather than keeping barbecue secrets.
"Service and hospitality is kind of at the forefront of what we want to provide," Lee said. "I think that's all it really takes for a restaurant to survive and make it. If you can do those two things, then you kind of hit the mark."
The restaurant plans to celebrate its anniversary in October with their annual trunk-or-treat event, featuring decorated cars in their parking lot, costume contests, and special menu items.
They're also waiting for a second smoker, originally expected in June but now delayed until January, which will allow them to expand their offerings and bring back events like their annual Oktoberfest sausage-making.
Looking ahead, Lee expressed interest in creating fusion dishes that combine Asian and Mexican flavors, including a potential brisket banh mi collaboration with nearby Manchu restaurant.
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