Smoking Kow BBQ’s first brick-and-mortar location will open next month in Alexandria, just a stone’s throw away from Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company and less than 2 miles down the road from Sweet Fire Donna’s Barbecue and Hops. However, owner Dylan Kough isn’t worried about competition.
“You know, like in Philly with Pat’s and Geno’s, they opened two steak and cheese places right next to each other and it’s now a big draw for people,” he says, adding that in this heavily residential area, he believes there’s enough business to go around.
Smoking Kow has been growing steadily since it launched in 2015, serving Kansas City-style barbecue. Kough started with one food truck, eventually added a second and then started catering events via a delivery truck. “This year, the only thing left is the brick-and-mortar,” he says.
When he bought his first food truck, a restaurant wasn’t in his plans. “The trucks kind of had an advantage where you didn’t have all this overhead,” he says. Now, he’s signed a lease. “I wouldn’t say I was looking for it, it’s just that as the trucks kept growing, we needed more space.”
Kough says the kitchen in his new restaurant will have plenty of space to prepare food for the trucks and for dine-in customers, but the menus will be a little different.
“On the food truck,” he explains, “[customers] don’t have a place to sit down and eat, so they’re just grabbing your food and then going, so it’s kind of more of a fast food, quick thing.”
“With the brick-and-mortar, there’s less of a rush. These people are coming to your restaurant to eat, so I’m going to expand the menu, kind of slow things down, make more composed dishes,” he says. “It’ll be a whole different vibe.”
You can still expect to find the popular Mac N’ Meat, but the towering dish will be elevated a bit with Parmesan breadcrumbs, pickled onions and jalapeños. “It’s still a nice comfort food,” Kough says, “but more composed, more flavor and more variety than we can do on the truck.”
The sweet and spicy chipotle cinnamon dry rub and the array of sauces will remain the same, but the meat will get an extra dose of smoke from a larger smoker that allows Kough to use whole hickory logs instead of compressed wood pellets.
Just like on the truck, chicken, brisket and pork will be available at the restaurant daily, with the addition of some new proteins. “I’m hoping to do sausage and ribs every day,” Kough says. “We’re going to have more stuff like beef short ribs or pork belly.”
Side options will double as well, with the truck staples of mac and cheese, coleslaw, cornbread, beans and grits, plus five more daily sides and a few rotating seasonal choices.
“Beyond that, we’re going to add composed sandwiches,” Kough says. “Now, our sandwiches are choice of meat with coleslaw. At the restaurant, we can have a brisket with sliced cheddar, horseradish sauce and pickled onions, stuff like that, where on the truck it just takes too much time.”
Tacos made with house flour tortillas will also be available at the restaurant; Kough hopes to dress up the toppings for those as well.
Kough also plans on having a small local beer program, with likely suspects including Port City Brewing Company, DC Brau and others.
Instead of grabbing lunch and rushing back to the office, customers at the restaurant can linger at communal picnic tables in the 1,500-square-foot space. Kough is going for a modern rustic look, with wood paneling, galvanized metal wainscoting, animal skulls and a chalkboard wall.
When the restaurant opens at the beginning of April, the hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Thanks to the larger kitchen, Kough expects the trucks’ menus to change a bit as well, with a few additional sides and some rotating specials. He also plans to expand the routes into Alexandria once the licensing goes through. They’ll continue hitting the busy spots in D.C., but focus more on Virginia. “We’re just kind of bringing everything west,” Kough says. // Smoking Kow BBQ: 3250 Duke St., Alexandria
