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Ryan Maynes, co-owner and pitmaster of The Smoky Mug, in its current space on Brookland Park Boulevard (File photo by Jay Paul)
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Cafe and smokehouse The Smoky Mug plans to move to 2930 North Ave., about a block from its current location, aiming for an April 2025 opening. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The North Avenue building once housed a bank, while in more recent years it has operated as a shoe repair shop and convenience store. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The inside of the building will undergo renovations in the coming months. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
As a restaurant owner, it can be nearly impossible not to be influenced by online reviews or comment threads on social media. Dan Lee, co-owner of The Smoky Mug, however, views the platforms as a helpful way to check the temperature on operations.
One of the most frequent complaints he sees from patrons of the Brookland Park Boulevard cafe and smokehouse: “Every season, someone is like, ‘I love the food, but it’s so hot, I can’t eat there,’ or, ‘I don’t know how people sit out in the cold,’” he says.
Open since November 2020, the buzzing dual-concept venture from Lee and co-owner and pitmaster Ryan Maynes has struggled with limited indoor seating. While there’s a spacious outdoor patio, it’s not necessarily built for comfort on sweltering summer days or frigid winter evenings.
Although the pair describe their operation as successful, they took guests’ comments to heart and found a solution just down the street. A block away from The Smoky Mug, at the corner of East Brookland Park Boulevard and North Avenue, was a vacant storefront for lease. Lee and Maynes contacted North Side investor and developer Cory Weiner about the building, which had previously housed a shoe repair shop, a convenience store and a bank.
“It all coalesced into this,” Lee says. “We knew the space was available. We knew 100% we were going to stay in the neighborhood. Just eliminating that seasonality will be a super big bonus for a lot of people.”
Aiming for an April 2025 debut, The Smoky Mug plans to relocate to 2930 North Ave. and introduce a restaurant space double its current size. Guests can look forward to a larger dining room complete with a lounge, extended operating hours, a 10-seat bar and an elevated cocktail program, along with more bakery offerings on the cafe front. And yes, there will be parking.
The 3,000-square-foot building will allow the team to upgrade from fridges to walk-in coolers, introduce equipment including an automatic tortilla press (tortillas are currently made to order) and purchase a sister smoker for Esmerelda. The owners’ vision is to create a more smooth and streamlined space for the business and the community.
“We sill get a lot of confusion from people who are first-timers,” Lee says of the restaurant’s current layout. “I think that was one of the goals with the new space, to kind of eliminate that confusion and knowing our concept going in and being able to build around that.”
For the redesign, they have hired a day-one customer, Justin Whiteford, and his team at Fultz & Singh Architects, whose portfolio includes projects such as The Veil Brewing Co.’s Forest Hill Avenue location. The building’s upstairs has a separate lease and is permitted for a commercial project yet to be determined.
While its barbecue is notorious for selling out early, The Smoky Mug envisions a “late-night” menu of snacks and other offerings. There are even whispers of reviving brunch, and for folks afraid of change, fear not: Favorites such as the hefty breakfast burritos and pork belly burnt ends will remain, as will much of the menu. For the cafe, veteran staffer Caitlin Ventura will oversee the bakery program.
Until the new space is complete, The Smoky Mug will continue its normal hours at the current building. Lee says they have signed another three-year lease at the original property, meaning, “We’ll have some time left on it, which presents an opportunity of, ‘What will that space turn into?’” he says.
Lee says they view this next phase as an opportunity to reinvest in the restaurant, the staff and the neighborhood. A Chester native, he has lived in Richmond since 2008 and can walk to work, embracing the idea of building something in the neighborhood where he lives.
“When we first came in, that was one of the special parts, like, we love being at the beginning of this community rebuild and seeing that other businesses are also taking on that mantle,” Lee says. “This wasn’t just about us and a space for us, it was about where we were, what impact are we making here, and seeing everyone have the same responses of, ‘Oh, we have this opportunity to grow, and we can do it right here.’ That’s great, why not take it?”
