This March, the 50-year-old Dog-N-Burger Grille closed its doors at 2001 Manteo St. The beloved Norfolk restaurant supplied hundreds of port city locals with salty crinkle fries, juicy hamburgers and ballpark hotdogs. The time has come, however, to pass the baton to yet another grill master—Bob Roberts of Redwood Smoke Shack.
Roberts first opened Redwood as a singular food truck operation in Portsmouth. The mobile meat shop won a handful of awards for best barbecue and best food truck in the Coastal Virginia region. As his following of smoked meat-lovers grew, so did the demand for a full-service restaurant. The first ever brick-and-mortar site for Redwood will open in the former Dog-N-Burger location this summer.
Roberts intends to complete a handful of renovations including the installation of two wood-burning offset smokers, fresh coats of paint, new awnings and upgrades to the outdoor patio such as a fire pit and exterior lighting. A handful of other hopeful additions include a live music venue and permit to pour local brews.
“We’ve been in operation for two years and are looking forward to this permanent location,” says Roberts. “I recently visited barbecue establishments in Houston and Austin to shadow those operations so we can bring the true Texan experience back to Ghent. We focus on dry-rubbed meats we cook low and slow for 16 hours. Everything is prepared from scratch with only the freshest of ingredients.”
Redwood Smoke Shack will run normal hours six days a week, but will shut down upon sell out. The Norfolk location will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the food truck running on Fridays and Saturdays as well.
Grace Silipigni
Grace Silipigni is an elementary school Spanish immersion teacher based in Virginia Beach and a regular contributor to Coastal Virginia Magazine, covering a wide range of topics such as health and wellness, education and learning, food and drink, happenings and events, travel and getaways and more.
