Smokey Mo’s BBQ will be serving up smoked brisket and more for Bastrop residents later this year when a new restaurant opens near the new Chipotle and upcoming Jeremiah's Italian Ice in the Burleson Crossing shopping center.

“We’re extremely excited to be opening a Bastrop location,” Craig Haley, president of Smokey Mo’s, told Community Impact. “Smokey Mo’s is neighborhood barbecue, so we feel like we will fit right in with Bastrop.”

Although Smokey Mo’s has explored the possibility of adding a Bastrop location for the last three or four years, he noted how the decision to move forward came down to finding the right real estate.

“Now, we have this location and we’re getting close to beginning construction,” Haley said.

The details


The project, estimated to cost $650,000, will begin on July 21, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

“Our target for opening is late October, early November,” Haley said. “It’s about a 100-day construction project.”

Haley highlighted several factors he believes make Smokey Mo’s special, such as smoking all meats in-house using post oak wood, focusing on friendly service and continuously investing in the community.

“We’re very interested in partnering with local high schools, the city and just being a part of the events all across town,” he said. “Food is such an important part of holidays and gatherings. You know, graduations, weddings, football games—all of those things. So we’re a place that you can count on for all of the milestone events in your life.”


What to know

Haley plans to hire a general manager soon and 25-30 team members from the local community in the following months.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to get staffed up quickly and ready to open for the last part of the season of high school football,” Haley said.