Salt & Smoke to open in St. Charles

Popular barbecue purveyor Salt & Smoke is headed west. Owner Tom Schmidt said he bought a building at 501 S. Main Street in St. Charles to house location number three.

“It was Winery of the Little Hills for more than 20 years,” Schmidt said. “The building was built in the 1880s, so it’s a national historic building.” The space measures out to just under 4,000 square feet, with a 300-seat brick patio.

“The patio is kind of a McGurk’s-style patio. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and right in the heart of Main Street. I couldn’t be more thrilled about it,” Schmidt said. “I probably looked at 150 spots before I found Hampton, and I probably looked at 150 spots before I found this one. This one actually happened a little bit faster than I thought. It was such a perfect fit.”

Schmidt said he plans to build an addition, and the permitting process would take some time, but once that’s completed, construction should take around four months. As for the menu, there will likely be some location-specific items, but Schmidt won’t be straying too far from what Salt & Smoke does best.

“That’s the goal: to replicate what we think we do perfectly well at both locations now,” Schmidt said. “We’ll figure out how best to be a neighbor to St. Charles and to fit into the community.”