It’s been a busier month than usual for Smoking Kow BBQ.
After being listed as #79 in Yelp’s Top 100 barbecue joints in the country, the restaurant and its catering operation have seen a giant boost in sales, owner Diane Lee told ALXnow.
“We just had our biggest day ever last Saturday,” Lee said. “On Saturday, June 1, we beat record sales, and then on the 8th we beat it again. It’s been nuts.”
The last big review of the restaurant was a Washington Post review in 2019. That was when it was owned and operated by founder Dylan Kough. Lee bought the restaurant last year, simplified the menu and focused on maintaining the juiciness of the brisket.
“I’ve been fine tuning the art of sliced brisket,” Lee said. “We’ve been focusing on quality rather than quantity, which is crazy because we’re cooking and selling out of more food that ever before.”
The restaurant has been routinely selling out at 5 p.m., three hours before it closes, prompting Lee to double the amount of food being cooked. It also means that staff, who usually start cooking at 5 a.m., have adjusted their hours to 3:30 a.m.
“Now we’re seeing that we’re selling out at 7 p.m. instead of 5, which was just too early,” Lee said. “As far as excess food, we don’t have any. We sell everything we cook.”
Lee also expanded her catering operation beyond their single truck by adding tents to their services.
“Now if our food truck is booked, we can do multiple tent events,” She said. “We’ve been adjusting different ways without having to buy another truck.”
The restaurant is currently hiring for cashiers, and pays $18-$20 per hour.
Lee also says that she has signed a letter of intent to open a location at National Landing in Crystal City, and is now looking to expand to Vienna in Fairfax County.
“Vienna has a similar vibe to Old Town,” Lee said. “It’s a really tight-knit community where they help small businesses.”
