Couple opens new restaurant in Downtown Morro Bay
Stephanie and Sean Hale are savoring their new eatery in Downtown Morro Bay, fulfilling a dream the couple has had of starting their own restaurant after careers working for others.
Sean said they have been married for 20 years — make that 21, according to Stephanie — and together for over 27. He hails from San Luis Obispo, and she is from the other side of the country.
Stephanie explained that she’s originally from Oakridge, Tennessee, and grew up in Walnut, Mississippi, so she’s a product of the so-called “Barbecue Belt,” mainly the South and Midwest states, where barbecuing is practically an art form.
Sean’s family is a long-time SLO fixture, and he’s been around various restaurants most of his life. “I was the ‘Chili Dog Boy’ at the old Cigar Factory on Higuera Street,” Sean recalled. His family also owned This Old House, a mostly steakhouse that used to be on Foothill Boulevard in rural SLO. “My family had that place back in the day,” Sean said.
The new restaurant is called Savory Smoke and is located at 897 Main St., next door to Legends Bar, in a building that has long had a little restaurant.
Legends will probably play a big part in whatever success they have, as there’s a pass-through window connecting the bar and the restaurant. So folks who want food, and don’t want to give up their barstools, can order through the window and eat in the tavern.
The Hales chose the location for several reasons, not the least of which is that it had a new exhaust hood to deal with the exhaust from the smoker. Plus, it was a nice spot in the middle of Downtown.
“It was the availability, the location, and we love Morro Bay,” Stephanie said.
Sean confesses that while growing up in SLO, he spent a lot of time in Morro Bay (mostly at the beach), “when I was supposed to be in class,” he said, laughing.
With over 30 years each of experience in the restaurant business, the the Hales come from a long line of restaurant people, with Stephanie coming off a corporate career working for chains like Outback Steakhouse and TGI Fridays, among others.
Sean used to work at smaller ones, including the infamous Dick’s Last Resort (motto: ‘Putting the FU in Fun!’), a wild and crazy place where customer service is delivered with a scowl and a bit of sarcasm. The last Dick’s still open is in Las Vegas at the Excalibur, he says.
Savory Smoke’s brand of barbecue is a little different than the Santa Maria-style that local folks might be used to — tri-tip roasted over an open fire, with beans, salad, and garlic bread.
“Being from Memphis,” Stephanie said, “I feel Memphis barbecue is the best in the world.”
By Memphis-style, she means smoked, as opposed to grilled, over charcoal or wood. She learned about barbecue when she and Sean were down in San Diego, working for a chef named Melvin “Boots” Johnson, who was a season winner on the TV show “Chopped” when the challenge was to barbecue in the Memphis style.
Stephanie pointed out that there is a cultural difference from what she knew growing up. “Here, barbecuing is a private affair,” she said, referring to families or neighbors gathering in the backyard to cook and share a meal. “Back home, that’s a ‘cookout.’ Barbecue is what you eat.”
As an example, Stephanie pointed to their use of coleslaw as a condiment on sandwiches. “That’s very Memphis style,” she says.
Sean adds, “People come in expecting the Santa Maria-style. Ours is barbecue with that Memphis twist.”
Savory Smoke quietly opened about a month ago, just before Labor Day Weekend. The business’ main marketing has just been a post on the Internet social media site, Nextdoor, which they say has gotten a great response. Its original post had some 2,500 comments in just the first few days. “The community has been really awesome,” Sean said. “The community backed us better than we could have hoped for.” The restaurant has already gotten a fair amount of return business, and it’s the local residents coming in.
“I know this is a big tourist town, but we wanted something the locals could call their own,” Sean said.
That’s why they didn’t mind opening at the tail end of the summer tourism season. Ordinarily, in Morro Bay the businesses on The Embarcadero get all the tourist business, leaving the Downtown more to the locals. In recent years, there’s been a mini-revitalization of the Downtown area, not by new developments, but through remodeling and repurposing of existing buildings, many of which date back to the 1940s or earlier. For example, The Siren at one time was Happy Jack’s Saloon, a fixture in Downtown Morro Bay since before Prohibition.
Stephanie recognizes the revitalization of Downtown, including several new places to eat. “We’re glad to be a part of it,” she said. “I don’t consider my neighbors as my competition.” The Hales believe the Downtown businesses — including other restaurants — complement each other well, and the Saturday Farmers Market, which takes over the street in front of Savory Smoke, as well as the 300 block of Morro Bay Boulevard, is “really fantastic,” for all their businesses.
The place is small, with just a smattering of tables inside, plus a couple of sidewalk tables out front. It’s both a sit-down and takeout place, and everything comes in a to-go box. And with the service to Legends, they’re in a position to capitalize on the late-night crowd. Most restaurants in town close the kitchen at 9 p.m. But they stay open a while longer on weekends. The Hales see great potential working with Legends and are planning a Chamber of Commerce mixer together, pairing Legends’ drinks with their food.
Savory Smoke’s hours is open Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (closed Tuesdays); and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Right now, there is no delivery service, but the Hales are looking into it after numerous people on Nextdoor asked for it. “People wrote ‘Please join Door Dash,’” said Stephanie. Their son and his girlfriend plus another fellow who cooks part-time, are their only employees. But Sean hopes the business will do well enough that they will be able to hire more staff.
One thing in the Hales’ advantage is that Savory Smoke isn’t their first rodeo. Sean said they’ve opened several businesses over the years, but this is the first restaurant. The kitchen they inherited has its good points and some not-so-good points, depending on how one analyzes it.
“We have very limited space,” he said. “If you’ll notice we don’t have a walk-in [large freezer], so our product is moved very quickly.” He said that means their ingredients are fresher, too. While that might be good for customers, it also means more deliveries, more often; but so far so good. “We are very appreciative of the support of the community,” Sean said.
See the eatery’s website at savorysmoke.com for a menu and more information.
Feature image: Sean and Stephanie Hale are the owners of Savory Smoke, a new Memphis-style barbecue restaurant in Downtown Morro Bay. Photo by Neil Farrell.
