Area family restaurant offers Thanksgiving feast to go

Morris "Mo" Melchor opened the first Smokey Mo's Bar-B-Q restaurant in Cedar Park in 2000.

During the following 13 years, the family-owned chain has expanded to seven Austin-area locations and a total of 11 locations statewide. In addition to Cedar Park and Leander, Smokey Mo's has restaurants in Austin, Bulverde, Conroe, Georgetown, Liberty Hill, Round Rock, San Antonio and Willis.

"The demand was there," District Manager Jordan Melchor, Morris's son, said. "He just kept opening stores."

Family-owned and -operated, each Smokey Mo's location has at least one member of the Melchor family on staff, District Manager Mary Melchor-Smith said.

The restaurant's customer base is also largely made up of families, making the Smokey Mo's family pack menu items, which can feed up to eight people, popular, she said.

The restaurant's three most popular meats—all smoked on-site—are brisket, turkey and sausage, Office Manager Anthony Lucero said, adding potato salad and pinto beans are the most popular sides.

"People don't know, because we're in strip center locations, that all of our meat is cooked fresh on-site," Lucero said. "It's something we take much pride in."

Each year the restaurant offers a shortcut for families looking to get out of cooking a Thanksgiving meal or who prefer a smoked turkey without the work. Each of the restaurant's locations are offering smoked turkeys and sides.

"Most orders are people who don't want to cook [for Thanksgiving]," Melchor-Smith said. "A lot of customers order for the flavor of a smoked turkey."

Each bird comes with reheating instructions, and although sides are not included in the price, customers may order them to-go with their meal. The restaurant also features a catering menu year-round.

Customers may call in or place orders in person at the location from which they intend to pick up the order.

"We are closed on Thanksgiving," Lucero said. "People must pick up [their orders] by Wednesday."

Smokey Mo's Bar-B-Q,

Cedar Park, 100 E. Whitestone Blvd., Ste. 158, 512-528-0500, Mon.–Sat. 7 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–8 p.m.

Cedar Park, 550 Cypress Creek Road, 512-336-0500, Mon.–Sat. 7 a.m.–9 p.m.,Sun. 8 a.m.–8 p.m.

Leander, 11880 Old FM 2243, 512-528-0700, Mon.–Sat. 6 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–8 p.m., www.smokeymosbbq.com