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Redwood Smoke Shack’s newest location has taken over where Bennett’s Creek Farm Market used to be on Bridge Road in North Suffolk. Owner Bob Roberts said they plan to have their grand opening on Jan. 28.

While this location will be staying true to their Texas-inspired barbecue menu, Roberts said there are few unique aspects. 

First, it has the most seating out of the three locations. Inside can seat 58 and the outdoor patio can seat 28. The outdoor patio is also connected to the pit room, where meat will be smoking in their newest smoker, which Roberts has named Woody after his French Bulldog. 

There is an oversized window connecting the patio and pit room where customers will be able to sit and look directly into the pit room. Roberts said they will also start offering pit tours, so people can see how they smoke the meat.

Something else special to the Suffolk location is the homage to its predecessor, the beloved Bennett’s Creek Farm Market. 

Bessie, the iconic cow that was on the roof of the Farm Market, is still there, just under a new name and a new color. Roberts renamed her Betsy and painted her their signature orange. 

“We did something like that in hopes that the locals come in, they see it, and they say, ‘Oh, these guys aren’t so bad,’” he said. 

Roberts also pointed out the original Bennett’s Creek marquee sign they kept that’s on display in the dining area. He said they are going to continue selling the famous chicken salad from the farm market, but they are going to use Redwood’s smoked chicken in it.  

Roberts’ wife, Lindsey, played a very big role in helping to design the dining area. She also mentioned the effort they put into keeping some of those original pieces and highlighting them. 

“We understand that the history has meaning, and we want to appreciate it,” she said. “We want the community to understand that, yes, we’re so sorry that they lost the farm market, but we’re excited to be there, and we definitely are not trying to take [anything] away.”

Director of Operations Milena Paltseva said it would have been easier and cheaper to knock down the original structure and start from scratch, but it was so important to all of them to save as much as they could. 

As for the menu, Roberts said it’s basically stayed the same since day one. Everything, except for the french fries, is made in house, from scratch, and are original recipes, he said. They also make four sauces that are offered on every table — a tomato based sauce, an Alabama white, a Georgia mustard, and a North Carolina vinegar based sauce. 

In addition to their bananamisu, Roberts said they are also going to add a warm dessert option. He said they’ve been testing apple crisp recipes and he wants to try out some cobblers. 

Right across the street from Redwood is Westside Burger and The Silos. Roberts said he hopes that they can all work together and collaborate to keep both businesses successful. He even threw out the idea of possibly working together to create specials that incorporate menu items from both restaurants.

While everyone is very eager and excited to officially open, Roberts said it hasn’t been easy getting to this point. Between inspections and contractors and figuring out the “quirks” of the new equipment, Roberts said it seemed like problems were popping up every day.

“Everybody sees the end result,” he said. “And they come in and everything looks great, and they don’t realize the demons that you’re fighting behind closed doors to get things done, and done up to whatever your standard might be.”

Roberts said they started the hiring process a couple weeks ago, which has reinvigorated his excitement. As of Jan. 6, they had 24 people hired and were days away from starting the orientation and training process. 

Even though it’s a cliche, Roberts said their team of employees truly is like a family, and he takes a lot of pride in hiring people who he knows will fit into their family.

“I think we’ve been around long enough now and have gotten enough, you know, write-ups or awards where we attract a different employee, and we kind of know the employee that we’re going for,” he said. “We have a really good retention rate on our staff, [we’re the] best staff in the business. I’ll go to war with this staff.” 

Lindsey said she thinks everything was more challenging this time because it’s the first time they’ve owned the entire property and done renovations on such a large scale. She said there’s “a lot more skin in the game” this time.

Paltseva said they are all feeling anxious, but good, about finally opening.She said this location has cost them literal blood and sweat. 

The closer they get to opening, the more excited everyone is getting, Roberts said.

“In the end, you want Northern Suffolk and Suffolk to be the best out of the seven cities,” he said. “So we feel that this area hit [the] ball for us in our vibe, so we’re ready to throw smoke in here.”