Smokey's offers homemade sauce, home-style cooking

Centered on home-style cooking and its homemade barbecue sauce, Smokey’s Family Restaurant & Tap has a menu meant to please everyone. Located in Republic, Smokey’s Family Restaurant & Tap has been open for three months, following a complete renovation of its mid-1800s building. “We wanted something nice for the community, so we fixed it up,” said Marquita Smith, who co-owns the restaurant with her son, Adam Fries. Fries said he had been interested in the building since it was Farmer’s Caf, and after purchasing the empty building in 2013, renovation became a family project. “He always wanted to have a bar and I always wanted a restaurant,” Smith said. “And the building has a long history of having a successful restaurant,” she added. Smith said the restaurant and bar, which house many original architectural aspects and is decorated with historical memorabilia, offer lunch and dinner. Daily specials include home-cooked food such as meatloaf sandwiches, beef stew over biscuits, beef stroganoff and grilled bologna. Homemade soups and desserts also are featured on the menu. Smith said the restaurant’s homemade barbecue sauce is a big hit. Many meals, including pulled pork and ribs, are centered on it, she said. “We make our own barbecue sauce. It’s a family recipe that’s been passed down since the ’40s,” Smith said. Smith said on Fridays, all-you-can-eat fish is available after 4 p.m., and baby back ribs with the restaurant’s signature barbecue sauce is featured on Saturdays. “Everyone loves the ribs. It’s been really popular,” she said. Smith said business, so far, has been great, and she hopes the restaurant’s bar, which is a full bar and offers its own menu, can grow even more. Smith said the business’s success can be attributed to its staff. “I have the best staff in the whole world. You can’t beat them,” she said. Fries said upcoming events for the bar include a Halloween party and a party on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. He said the bar also has the NFL Ticket and is looking into installing Keno. Smokey’s Family Restaurant & Tap, 205 Washington St., is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Sunday, excluding Wednesdays. The bar is open until 1 a.m. It can be reached at (419) 585-4027. Check out the restaurant’s Facebook page for more information.