Owner’s theory is,‘if you smoke it they will come’

Smokey’s Bar-B-Que and Angus Steakhouse enjoys a great location, set on Bay Street west of Port Orchard facing a clear panorama including Sinclair Inlet and the Olympic Mountains.

Its owner, Gary Hobbs, hopes to enhance this natural advantage with a restaurant that it is as well-known for food and service as the spectacular view.

Smokey’s, which opened last week, is Hobbs’ first restaurant after a lifetime in the food business.

While he learned the ropes as a distributor, the most relevant experience comes from 17 years running award-winning barbecue booths from the Albuquerque Balloon Festival to Bumbershoot.

“We’ve had hundreds of people come up to us at festivals and ask us where our restaurant was located,” Hobbs said. “People travel miles for good barbecue, so we were confident that we could make it work.”

Hobbs initially picked Bremerton as a location. Coincidentally, the current site became available after Fat Rascal’s went out of business earlier this year.

Hobbs and his crew spent nearly two months renovating the facility. The bathrooms and the kitchen are still in the same place, but everything else has been spiffed up considerably.

Fat Rascal’s, which was open for about two years, ran what appeared to be a successful business.

When the owners fell behind on their taxes, however, they received several thousand dollars in donations, but it wasn’t enough to keep them open.

Hobbs deflects discussion about his predecessors and his competitors, stressing that his restaurant is a completely new venture. And if the initial reaction is any indication, any bad taste from the previous owners has washed away.

Where barbecue is concerned, all that matters is quality.

“We have been full since the beginning,” said Hobbs. “On our first night, we turned over all the tables twice.”

The enthusiastic out-of-the-gate reaction is fueled only by word of mouth, since Hobbs has yet to inform his festival customer base that he has landed in a fixed location.

He knows it will take a while for the word to get around; in the meantime, he plans to refine the operation.

“We’re listening to customer feedback,” he said. “We will then provide what the majority of them says they want.”

Currently, the menu consists of pulled pork, sausage, steak and ribs, as well as the usual side orders.

Hobbs said he is getting the best quality meat he can find which, along with the sauce, combines to produce the perfect barbecue blend.

He expects to add chicken and salmon in the next few months.

Hobbs, 58, has lived in Gig Harbor since 1976 and has raised four daughters. One, Jessica, is a newly graduated registered nurse who has put her career on hold for the time it takes to get the restaurant off the ground.

Hobbs said his success will result from a combination of hard work and business experience.

He acknowledges that current economic conditions are less than ideal and is aware of the high percentage of restaurant closures.

Still, he has confidence in his product and his abilities, and thinks he will be able to attract customers.

Hobbs still plans to work the festival circuit when it ramps up next year, but will be a little more selective about where they set up shop.

This will also push people toward the restaurant, as he will be able to tell people where they can get the same high quality food after the bands have stopped playing and the crafts people have packed their tents.

He still expects to work the largest local festivals, such as Issaquah Salmon Days and Bumbershoot, since it took him a long time to gain access to these top-level events.

“This is a work in progress,” he said. “And we will keep making improvements.”