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The Smoky Mug opens Friday in its new location at 2930 North Ave. Local artist Emily Herr completed the Southwestern-inspired mural inside the restaurant.
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The Smoky Mug will serve breakfast daily from 8 a.m. to noon.
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The new location presents a larger dining space, in addition to a dedicated lounge area. Fultz & Singh Architects conceived the redesign, with woodworking completed by WallFisch Designs and plants overseen by woman-owned landscape and gardening firm Little Garden Girl, operated by former dining industry worker Jac Beasley.
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The Smoky Mug offers happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m., with a cocktail menu devised by tenured bartender Beth Dixon of Salt and Acid consulting.
Many people begin the homeownership journey with a starter space. Typically, it presents a low barrier to entry, whether less expensive or not quite as roomy. It’s never perfect, often comes with more than one “charming” flaw and can help reveal what one truly wants in their next abode.
The proprietors of North Side’s The Smoky Mug have been on a similar journey, but as restaurant owners. After nearly five years at their original building on Brookland Park Boulevard, they’re ready to move into their forever home, just a block away. On Friday, Aug. 8 — offering breakfast service only during a soft opening through the weekend — the breakfast and barbecue joint will reintroduce itself at 2930 North Ave. as an all-day Tex-Mex cafe with upgraded bakery and cocktail offerings, an expanded menu, and later hours.
“It was always a long-term vision,” says co-owner and neighborhood resident Dan Lee. “I don’t think any of the partners went in that first space like, ‘This is forever.’ It was the feeling of, ‘We can get started here.’”
Taking over the former bank building on the southwest corner of North Avenue and Brookland Park Boulevard, the team has converted the space into a modern-day Southwestern hideaway. A mural from local artist Emily Herr with vibrant desert hues serves as the backdrop, flowing from the front door and through the dining room before curving into a lounge area. Taking cues from the Lonestar State, motifs from succulents and cacti to painted longhorn skulls and images of cowboys set the scene.
The lounge area inside The Smoky Mug
After contending with limited seating at its former location, The Smoky Mug has taken its capacity up a notch. A partial wall separates the dining room, with seats for about 60 guests, from a lounge area with bench-style seating accented with saddle brown leather pillows. There are also a handful of trendy wicker egg chairs and two leather couches.
Describing the feel of the lounge, Lee says, “If you want to go from coffee to wine or cocktails, if you want to really melt in, you can. We’ve got some couches built in, we’ve got these tiny little work tables; it’s really about serving everyone.”
Leaning into their hybrid cafe-restaurant persona, Lee, along with Smoky Mug co-owner and pitmaster Ryan Maynes, had been on the lookout for a bigger building for years. The 3,000-square-foot space was their answer.
“We kind of went for everything we wanted, in a big way,” Lee says of the expansion. “We never had the lounge. I mean, it’s a cool opportunity to be like, ‘We need to grow anyway,’ and then that just presents this open door.”
While it was what the proprietors wanted, many of the additions were requests from patrons, too. Describing the reopening as a take two, a rare opportunity to revisit all those “I wish” moments and transform the sacrifices made during the bootstrap beginning phase, Lee says customer feedback has been instrumental in their decision-making. Their goal is to enhance the daily flow and operations.
Morning offerings will now be available from 8 a.m. to noon daily, adding an extra hour to breakfast service. For patrons on the move, the cafe’s coveted foil-wrapped breakfast burritos with folded eggs, hashbrowns, Hatch chiles and cheddar cheese swaddled by housemade tortillas will be available for grab-and-go service.
“We have more kitchen space, so we are not bound by the rush of having to get the next service ready; we’re going the opposite direction,” Lee says.
All of their smoky mainstays, from Texas-style brisket to pulled pork and housemade sausages, will remain, along with their Hatch chile mac and cheese, rib-tip collard greens, and mostaza (mustard) potato salad. Lee says they will offer a happy hour and late-night bar menu featuring fan-favorite smoked chicken wings, a “barbecuterie board” — a medley of meats, queso and little bites — in addition to the oft-requested quesadillas and a trio of street tacos.
Imbibers will have a place to stay and sip a while in the new space. A 10-seat bar, big screen included, is a new addition. For the cocktail menu, The Smoky Mug called on North Side neighbor Beth Dixon of mixology consulting business Salt and Acid, who also operates Studio One Twenty down the street. Find a tart and lightly floral lavender-guava margarita, along with Ranch Water — the sessionable Texas classic made with tequila, lime juice and sparkling water — on tap and a horchata-inspired espresso martini.
On the cafe front, those who need a late afternoon pick-me-up can pop by for a power hour between 3 and 4 p.m. to grab a discounted cup of coffee. The Smoky Mug is partnering with Staunton’s Cat Nap Roasting for its beans.
The Smoky Mug’s current smoker, Esmerelda, will be joined by a sibling smoker this fall. The restaurant sources white oak and hickory wood from a local supplier.
Head baker Caitlin Ventura, who has been at The Smoky Mug for three years, plans to whip up muffins, along with scones, cookies and a soon-to-be-perfected cinnamon roll. Lee says, “One of the things I’m excited about is we’re going to add a churro. We’ll also be minimizing our bagel usage but going to bring in our homemade biscuits for an everyday option, and Texas Toast.”
Out back, a patio with wooden picnic benches seats about 40 guests. While their old smoker, Esmerelda, made the move with them, in the coming months, she will be joined by a bright and shiny smoky sibling.
Lee notes that, beyond the fresh decor and menus, Smoky Mug 2.0 is a chance to commit to the concept and to their tenured employees.
“We have a core eight to 10 staff members that are multiyear and have traveled with us; they’re invaluable,” Lee says. “We knew 100% we were going to stay in the neighborhood, and we wanted to go to the next step with this.”
The Smoky Mug will offer breakfast service only during its soft reopening, Friday, Aug. 8, through Sunday, Aug. 10, from 8 a.m. to noon. Regular hours begin Aug. 11: Monday and Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to midnight, with happy hour daily from 4 to 7 p.m.
