Ryan Maynes, co-owner and pitmaster of The Smoky Mug (Photo by Jay Paul)
Ryan Maynes grew up in the kitchen with his family, so when he and wife Bethany Dunbar stumbled across a coffee shop near their new home that was looking to hand over its lease, his imagination ran wild. Sharing the idea with their fellow North Side residents and married friends Dan and Marcella Lee over briskets and cocktails, they decided to spring into action. Opening the restaurant in November 2020, the group have brought a new concept — and aroma — to Brookland Park Boulevard with The Smoky Mug, an eatery that’s part coffee shop, part barbecue joint, part neighborhood refuge.
Richmond magazine: Why the decision to focus on barbecue and coffee?
Ryan Maynes: It seemed like a great idea. Why couldn’t a coffee shop and barbecue spot exist together? The neighborhood needs barbecue, and they need coffee, and we’re gonna be the ones that get it to them.
RM: What sets your barbecue apart?
Maynes: It’s the type of food I grew up eating in a small cattle town called Clayton in northeastern New Mexico. Our barbecue is only cooked with wood — no gas-assist or set-it-and-forget-it-style cookers where you turn a dial and let electronics do the work for you. It’s a lot of hard work, but you can’t replicate the outcome. We wouldn’t have it any other way. We offer a prime rib basket, smoked pork belly, pork-belly burnt ends, pulled pork, pork spareribs, smoked sausage and smoked chicken.
RM: How did you get into smoking barbecue?
Maynes: I have always loved barbecue, and even now the smell of something smoking brings back nostalgic memories. If barbecue was happening, it meant friends were coming over or family was in town. Our town had a huge celebration every year for the Fourth of July with a big street dance on Main Street, parade, rodeo and, of course, a barbecue. Everybody who had moved away or went to college returned for this, and you could count on seeing them at the barbecue.
RM: What drew you to the food scene in Richmond?
Maynes: I served four years in the Marines, with two combat tours in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. During my second tour, I was wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart. I worked in the car business for 10 years here in Richmond as a finance manager. I left that to be a superintendent of an asphalt paving company. I finally had weekends and holidays off again! It was shortly after that when my wife bought me a small backyard smoker. I started cooking huge spreads and would invite everyone over. I’m not gonna lie, the food probably sucked at first, but they kept showing up, and I got better at it. People started to tell me how good it was, and that I should charge money for it.
