New Downtown BBQ Restaurant Will Open On March 8
MONCTON – Applewood Smoked BBQ on the corner of Robinson Court and Main Street is almost ready to open.
Owner Kevin Kang said the restaurant located on 831 Main Street will open to the public on March 8.
It will serve smoked barbeque and poke dishes for lunch and dinner, and offer a take-out menu. It seats 32 people.
Kang says he wants to add the “greasy” public favourite to the Moncton food sector.
“Frankly, I think Moncton doesn’t really have a barbeque,” he said. “The winter is long and [barbecue is] just something that everybody likes so we want to bring that here.”
This will be Kang’s first restaurant, though he has a background in the food services industry. He will manage Applewood with business partner Young Jang from Toronto, who has experience running five restaurants in the past.
A year ago, passersby would be able to hear the music playing from Keatings Tobacco Shop on that corner. The smoke shop had been in that location for 92 years but moved across the street a year ago.
The 1,100-square-foot space had been vacant since, but Kang says the location is what made him decide to open a restaurant there.
“It’s location, location, location, right?” he said. “There’s the Capitol Theatre next door, Robinson Court, the new events centre . . . There’s Taj Mahal the Indian restaurant, Vien Dong – that’s the Vietnamese restaurant. I just feel like it’s a mecca for international food here.”
The block has recently seen new establishments open, including the Katch Seafood/Pizza Girls franchise next door to Applewood Smoked BBQ.