Barbecue is back on the menu for one North Tonawanda location.
WNY Smoke Shack opened this past September at 697 Erie Ave., the site of the former J&L’s Boulevard BBQ. This collaboration between owner Damian Spalla and pitmaster Brad Lewis adds another spot to a city with its share of BBQ restaurants.
“We’re trying to do something a little bit different, offering homestyle food,” Spalla said, who is also Director of the Discover716 marketing agency.
Lewis had been doing backyard BBQ’s while doing factory work for 23 years, having done some restaurant work in the past. When Spalla came to him with this new opportunity, he wanted to see how far it goes.
“I started cooking barbecue in the backyard just as a hobby, and it turned into something bigger,” Lewis said.
While making plenty of the usual BBQ staples like ribs, pulled pork, briskets, chicken, and the sides, Lewis said they make their own spice rubs and use a wood-fired grill with cherry and hickory wood to give it a different flavor than a gas grill.
The building’s side also has newly painted murals by the graffiti artist known as Danger Benzin, one showing a slab of ribs on a grill and another showing the ingredients of a burger.
Lewis said that business is picking up now that the word about it is getting out, with some repeat customers building up. With the weather getting colder, they plan on adding different kinds of soups to their menu.
WNY Smoke Shack is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays and 11 .m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.