BBQ Shutdown
Fort Worth barbecue restaurant in cursed spot suffers inevitable fate
It takes a brave restaurant to open in the profoundly doomed corner #153 space at 2600 W. Seventh St. in Montgomery Plaza, which has been a revolving door for so many concepts. Add Honey Smoke Pit to the list. This barbecue spot, which opened in August, is closing down November 20, i.e. today.
The restaurant served Texas barbecue, craft beer, and waitresses in skimpy uniforms, which would seem to be a guaranteed formula. But it seems that no one can overcome the #153 curse.
Honey Smoke Pit's chef was chuck-wagon cook Rodney Lambert, who'd come from Smokey Mae's in Mansfield, and had previously worked at Cowtown BBQ and Fred’s Texas Cafe. The menu included dishes that, in any other location, might have killed: pork ribs, brisket, burgers, jalapeño-bacon mac-and-cheese, and panko onion rings.
Not at #153.
Honey Smoke made CultureMap's August edition of Where to Eat, wherein Malcolm Mayhew noted Lambert's use of an indoor rotisserie smoker to cook brisket, ribs, bologna, and other barbecue staples, served by the pound, on plates, or in sandwiches. "Unlike most 'cue joints, it's table service," he noted, with female servers "barely clad" in cut-off shorts and tank tops. It also had a full bar.
The staff was informed of the closure over the weekend, which is more notice than many restaurateurs give. The lone server at the restaurant on Monday afternoon said that she was one of the only staffers who'd shown up, and that the restaurant was likely closing early, around 7 pm.
"We weren't told the exact reason, but we weren't getting much business lately," she said. "Saturdays were generally busy, but other days, it's been slow. The location has not been good."
Honey Smoke Pit joins a lineup of failed restaurants in the space that include Mac's Steak and Seafood, Monty's Corner, Bite City Grill, Boiling King Crab Tap House, and most recently M Bistro.
Who shall bravely go next?
