TORONTO — Sometimes, a location with foot traffic isn’t ideal for a restaurant.
In late April, Adamson Barbecue opened in an industrial area of Leaside in Toronto.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” said Adam Skelly, who owns the barbecue joint with his girlfriend Alison Hunt.
While more populous areas of Toronto would place Adamson Barbecue in sight of potential clients, the restaurant’s 6,000-pound wood smoker — capable of cooking 1,300 pounds of meat — isn’t exactly neighbourhood friendly.
“Within a two-block radius on Queen West, you have thousands of homes. Some of those people are going to be vegans or old-timers that don’t want to smell barbecue,” Skelly said. “We’re in a great location. We don’t have anybody to piss off.”
The restaurant, located in the former home of a welding shop, also has 3,000 square feet of space, 200 amps of power and an adjacent alley to park a 26-foot food truck and 22-foot smoker rig.
“I wouldn’t be able to put any of my smokers in a restaurant on Queen West, not one of them. Here I have four,” Skelly said.