Last week the Boston Licensing Board approved The Smoke Shop BBQ’s application for a common victualler seven-day allalcoholic beverages license in East Boston. The Licensing Board’s approval is pending the availability of the license.
In the fall Lendlease, who developed Clippership Wharf into a seven-acre site overlooking Boston Harbor with 284 apartments and 194 condominiums, announced it had entered into a lease with Andy Husbands, The Smoke Shop BBQ’s owner, chef and pitmaster. Husbands plans to expand The Smoke Shop BBQ’s existing Boston-area footprint with its new location at 45 Lewis St. within the Clippership Wharf development. Offering award-winning BBQ paired with New England’s largest American whiskey collection, the location is scheduled to welcome guests by summer 2022. .
At the Licensing Board hearing, Husbands’ attorney Kristen Scanlon said the 4,000 square foot restaurant will be on the ground floor, in two rooms with seating for 102 patrons. The layout of the BBQ restaurant includes one main dining room and one bar room with bar seating, bar dining seating and a bar rail. There will also be a yearround outdoor patio, weather permitting, that can seat 116 customers. Scanlon said the restaurant will close at 1 am with the patio closing at 11 pm.
“The Smoke Shop has always attracted a wide spectrum of people – it’s not uncommon to see one customer in shorts and flip-flops eating next to someone else in a suit,” said Husbands when the lease was announced. “That’s why Eastie made sense for our next location, as it aligns with the high-energy vibes and diverse crowds inside our restaurants.”
The space is being designed by Sousa Design Architects, the firm behind the restaurant’s existing locations.