A new barbecue restaurant concept is planned for the Northpoint Park shopping center in North Jacksonville.
A permit has been issued for a $650,504 build-out of the 3,327-square-feet Southern Smokehouse at 12741 Yellow Bluff Road.
International Management Co. LLC of Jacksonville is the owner and the contractor. The shopping center is at northeast Yellow Bluff and New Berlin roads, about 2 miles north of Interstate 10 and Alta Drive.
It is the latest venture for spouses Louis Joseph and Baylee Joseph.
Louis Joseph said he expects to open the restaurant in late June or early July.
He is the owner of Southern Coast Seafood at 1301 Monument Road. His cousin, who shares the same name, owns Mudville Grille at 3105 Beach Blvd. in St. Nicholas and is his partner at Southern Coast Seafood.
Joseph once lived near the restaurant and says he has a good idea about what people there want in a new dining spot.
“Demographics play a huge part in the success you can have in this industry. I believe that the community up where we’re putting this location is better served with barbecue rather than a seafood restaurant,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to find the right location on that side of town for the last couple of years. We were able to finally find a location that we felt was going to work.”
Joseph is leasing the two units at one end of the center. He expects the dining room to seat 120. He wants to hire about 25 employees.
The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner. It will have a full bar.
There is no drive-thru, but there will be a takeout window.
Southern Smokehouse will be the first tenant in that space. Joseph said it works to his advantage.
“The benefit of being a new build-out is that we get to lay it out the way that we want to, as opposed to taking a second-generation location and kind of working with what’s already there,” he said.
The menu will include chicken, pork, beef and turkey. However, other items will make this barbecue restaurant different, Joseph said.
“We are going to have more handheld items than you normally would see in a barbecue restaurant. We’re going to do some tacos and four different types of salads. We’re planning on having a barbecue lasagna, turkey leg and fried ribs,” he said.
All of the sides will be made in-house.
The pitmaster is Tony Randino, who worked as a sous chef and then chef at Southern Coast Seafood. Joesph said Randino’s culinary skills include barbecue.
“He brings a chef’s touch on everything. He is beyond just being a pitmaster,” he said.