“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the provisional closing of Hub City Smokehouse & Grill by the end of October,” restaurant officials said in a Facebook post on Sunday. “This decision has not been made lightly, and we want to express our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support and loyalty over the years.”
Hub City Smokehouse stands at 168 S. Main St. Like many other businesses, the restaurant in the past few years has had to deal with unprecedented challenges such as inflation, a fluctuating economy, rising food costs, taxes, rising payroll, volatility in commercial real estate, and the challenges of renting an 80-year-old building, restaurant officials said in the FB post.
“Despite our best efforts to navigate these economic hurdles, we have reached a point where continuing operations at our current location is no longer feasible,” officials said.
Hub City Smokehouse owner Mike Carroll could not be reached for comment. The restaurant opened in 2011 on P.J. Adams Parkway and moved to Main Street in 2015.
Carroll also owns The Hub American Family Restaurant, which opened at 346 W. U.S. Highway 90 in late 2020.
“We will concentrate our efforts on our thriving catering operations at our Wilson Street location (behind Hub City Smokehouse) while we will transfer our breakfast service to The Hub Family Restaurant along with our most popular BBQ dishes,” officials said on Facebook. “If an opportunity presents itself in the future, we will re-open at a new location.”
Hub City Smokehouse was named the 2017 Florida Retailer of the Year by the Florida Retail Federation. In 2022, Carroll, who is an Air Force veteran, received the city of Crestview’s Mae Reatha Coleman Citizen of the Year Award for his numerous acts of generosity to the local community and beyond.
In addition to its well-known barbecue dishes, Hub City Smokehouse features Carroll’s collection of more than 3,000 shot glasses. Over the years, he has given a smoked pulled pork sandwich to customers who donated a shot glass unique to his collection.
The restaurant also has aprons worn by and containing the names of regular customers.
“We are immensely proud of the community we have built together and the memories we have shared here on Main Street and throughout Crestview,” Hub City Smokehouse officials said on FB. “We are grateful for the friendships formed and the support you have shown us. We hope we have impacted your lives as much as you have impacted ours.”
Hub City Smokehouse is “an iconic place here in Crestview,” Mayor J.B. Whitten, who has known Carroll since the days when the eatery was on P.J. Adams, said today. “Hopefully he’ll find another place in the near future.”
He added that Carroll “has always been a great community partner.”