Former Coal Creek Smokehouse to get new life, still with barbecue
Kristopoher Blas, left, and his father, Louis Blas, are remodeling the former Coal Creek Smokehouse building in Rocky Top to prepare it for their new busines, Grumpa Bear BBQ, which they plan to open in about two months. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Louis Blas, who moved to the Medford area from California in February, has bought the building at 211 S. Main St. with his wife and son, and this week began gutting and remodeling the interior to prepare for his new business, Grumpa Bear BBQ.
“I retired Dec. 1 from working for the state of California, and I always had a vision of doing a barbecue business with my son,” Blas said Thursday. “I’ve been running through my retirement income, and decided I needed to do something to get some money coming back in.
“We finalized the purchase of the building las Friday, and we plan to open within two months,” he said. “We heard rumbling about how the new mayor wants downtown opened back up and running, and we think this will help.”
His wife, Cynthia, will help him run the restaurant along with his son, Kristopher, and his wife, Haley, Blas said.
“The barbecue business is new for us, but we’re going to try brisket and tri-tip, and of course we will have pulled pork,” Blas said. “We will smoke the meat on site here. Our smoker is still being built in Indiana, but we will bring it here and install it soon.”
Besides the smoked meats, Blas said Grumpa Bear BBQ will also serve hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, and his special smoked mac and cheese.
“We will also have three of our own barbecue sauces,” he said. “They are a regular sauce, which will have a touch of heat, and a mustard sauce and a bourbon sauce.” They will all be made in house, he added.
Customers will order at the counter, but there will be dining rooms for them to sit to eat their meals if they are not taking their food out. There also will be some picnic tables in the front yard, Blas said.
Tentative plans are to operate Tuesday through Saturday, but Blas said he’s been told that opening on Sundays would bring in business from customers visiting nearby Norris Lake or the Windrock off-road park.
He said he hopes his barbecue will be able to win some of the same regional and national accolades that Coal Creek Smokehouse earned in the few years it was in business.
Gumpa Bear BBQ will join a growing list of new downtown businesses, which also include the Coal Creek General Store and Coal Creek Coffee, both of which are nearby on Main Street.
There also is a new antiques store that opened recently nearby, and another on the way.