Smokey Bones, a full-service barbecue restaurant based in Aventura, Fla., announced it will open two restaurants with its new prototype design and virtual restaurants, The Wing Experience and Burger Experience, in Utica and Avon, Ind.
The Utica location, which will open early next year, will be located in the Target-anchored Shelby Corners retail center at the intersection of Hall and Schoenherr roads. This is the third Smokey Bones location in Michigan and the first in the Detroit area. The other locations are in Lansing and Grand Rapids.
“We’re excited to bring Smokey Bones locations to Avon, and Utica,” says Joey Stewart, chief development officer at Smokey Bones. “I’m especially excited to be leading the redesign of the Smokey Bones asset and the addition of significant technology-enabled off-premises functionality in a dedicated off-premises space for our guests.”
The new design will feature a smaller dining area with a large bar area in the middle of the restaurant along new décor, fixtures, and original art. The redesign also includes dedicated off-premises vestibules with a separate entrance and to-go station for both virtual brands and Smokey Bones.
These two locations will be the first to be designed around the “Masters of Meat” slogan, with the phrase showing up underneath the main outdoor sign and throughout the restaurant.
The Smokey Bones menu offers a variety of barbecue options. Available for a limited time are the blackberry bourbon wings, tossed in pureed blackberries, the house barbecue glaze, and cooked with Bulleit Bourbon.
Always available are the smoked wings that can be partnered with up to two sauces, which include mango habanero, mustard barbecue, cajun, honey hot, and Kansas City barbecue.
The Wing Experience, one of the virtual restaurants, offers 50 wing flavors, along with a crispy chicken sandwich and fries for a side. The burger experience offers numerous sandwiches, including the good seed veggie burger for meat-free patrons, a green chile burger topped with pepper jack cheese and fire roasted green chiles on a toasted brioche bun, and a bacon cheeseburger topped with smoked bacon, caramelized onions, and the XTC experience sauce.
“The approval of these two new restaurants, two new ghost kitchens, and the success of our virtual brands underpin the growing momentum of this great company,” says James O’Reilly, CEO of Smokey Bones. “We have added a highly experienced management team, transformed our culture, introduced a compelling new brand positioning, focused and improved our menu, rebuilt our technology platforms, improved our operations, and we’re just getting started.”
