J. Smug’s GastroPit closed for business in its present location after dinner service on Saturday, July 13. Open for two years, Smug’s served barbecue on The Hill (and was the last restaurant to be reviewed by the late dining critic Joe Bonwich). Best sellers included the brisket, a brisket burger on a pretzel bun, and bacon-wrapped street corn.
Owner Joe Smugala is opening a new concept, Pit Stop, in the space at 2130 Macklind. The GastroPit concept will live on, however, operating out of a small space carved out of Gaslight Lounge (4916 Shaw), formerly home of food truck Cha Cha Chow’s brick-and-mortar location.
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Few details have been released so far about what form the Pit Stop concept will take. SLM has reached out to Smugala for comment. A Facebook post on the GastroPit account announced Pit Stop “will be fully loaded with new TVs, patio, full liquor license and cocktails and more,” but it contained no hints about what will be happening in the kitchen. The Pit Stop logo teases “local fare,” but there’s nothing to suggest what that will mean.
The GastroPit is revamping its menu as it moves to its new digs, with the restaurant’s Instagram account unveiling a selection of tacos that will be available. J. Smug’s GastroPit officially takes over the restaurant space at Gaslight Lounge this Tuesday, July 16, and will be open six days a week. The kitchen will be open from 11 a.m.–midnight Tuesday to Saturday and on Sunday from 4 p.m.–midnight.
More as we learn it.
