It is co-owned by Jamie and Darby Mousseau, Chris Duplantis and Mitch Lowes. It is located at 287 George St. N. at the former Taso’s Restaurant & Pizzeria and the short-lived The Locker Room location.
The restaurant will feature traditional smokehouse cuisine including pulled pork, brisket, ribs and more. The restaurant is an extension of the Mousseaus as they own the restaurant ‘The Back40 Smoke Box’ in Fenelon Falls and Whitby and have a catering business of the same affiliation.
“At first it was going to be a Cajun Creole restaurant, that's what my plan was,” explained Lowes. “He owns three restaurants so he suggested bringing it here and it just made sense.”
Both the Mousseaus and Lowes have their own lines of hot sauces, The Back40 Hot Sauce and the locally owned Flame Spitters Hot Sauce, respectively, which are also being incorporated into the menu. Their respective products will also be available for purchase at the establishment.
They met at a hot sauce expo and frequently attended the same events over time. Their partnership helped spark the dream of the local entrepreneur to open a restaurant.
“Eventually, I was going to take Flame Spitter to the next level, take the money I've been saving for it and this opportunity arrived for me,” said Lowes.
To accommodate the bar rush, the smokehouse will have a take-out window with a condensed menu, as it is conveniently located near several nightclubs and bars. It will be open until 3 a.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It will feature sandwiches, poutine and chicken wings.
The restaurant plans to feature live music, special event nights, daily food specials, and 12 local draft beers on tap, with two of them on rotation.
“We hope to turn this into a place for the community will actually love, sit down and enjoy,” said Lowes.
