SMOKE BBQ RESTAURANT & BAR

A Smithfield-based couple started their BBQ business out of their home in 2008 – winning BBQ competitions while running a catering operation and developing their brand. In 2011, they opened Smoke BBQ in Newport News, and almost immediately began collecting awards. In 2014, PMA was approached to design a new outdoor patio for the restaurant, which soon grew to include a complete façade renovation supported by city grant funding.

The design emerged as an intentional nod back to the traditional front porch as a community gathering space, where good food and good friends could meet. The patio was constructed from heavy exposed timbers and simple wood trusses. Metal roofing along with strung lights and overflowing planter beds are informed by this agrarian aesthetic. Separating the new building entrance from the patio is a screened lounge space, with a gas fireplace for relaxed late-night ambiance. Building signage, fabricated from red-painted aluminum, is lit from below to mark the entrance.

The restaurant interior was updated and opened up to allow for more comfortable gathering space around the bar. A private dining room with backlit signage and sliding barn doors allows for flexible seating. Barn wood paneling and the owners’ collection of folk art complete the interior re-fit.

Smoke has been successful both as a design (winning the 2015 HRACRE Award of Excellence for Best Renovation) and as a business. After re-opening in 2015, the restaurant reported triple their normal revenue and continues to collect accolades for their patio, and of course for their BBQ.