Jodi Schwan

jschwan@sfbusinessjournal.com

There’s finally a restaurant coming to the vacant building on South Louise Avenue that originally was planned as a Quaker Steak & Lube.

And this one will actually open, its owner said.

Joe Cody, who has worked in the restaurant industry more than 40 years, is opening an original barbecue concept called Cody’s Smokehouse BBQ.

The restaurant will featured Kansas City-style barbecue. Cody – a fan of barbecue – estimates he visited dozens of restaurants in states throughout the south before settling on an approach.

All the product will be smoked on site, and a nationally award-winning pit master helped develop it.

“It’s a dry rub. We have five sauces you put on yourself, and St. Louis-style ribs, beef brisket, shredded pork, chicken, turkey and sausage all smoked,” Cody said. “And we’re going to have the capacity to do catering from a small group to a very large group.”

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Sides will include a warm potato casserole, jalapeno creamed corn, coleslaw, French fries, original recipe baked beans and a cucumber and tomato salad.

The building seats 300 but will be a fast-casual format where guests order at a counter. Cody also plans to get a beer and wine license.

“We expect you’ll be able to order, get in line and be done in 20 minutes if you wanted,” he said. “The big thing here is the prices are going to be really reasonable, the portions really large and the biggest thing of all is it will be very consistent.”

Cody also has ownership in franchises for Arby’s, Noodles & Company and Old Chicago in the Sioux Falls area.

He lives near the vacant Quaker Steak building on Louise Avenue south of 69th Street and said he had been considering it for a while. After another deal for the building fell through, he approached broker Scott Blount of Lloyd Cos. about the purchase.

“I got it for the right price, and it’s a very large building and it’s brand new. Not quite finished even though it’s three years old,” Cody said.

The building sat so long in part because it was built in the style of the restaurant chain Quaker Steak & Lube, Blount said.The franchisees for that concept never ended up opening in Sioux Falls.

“Every other restaurant from Minnesota to North Dakota that looked at this had to architecturally change the outside, and all of a sudden had too much money tied up in the property,” Blounr said.

Because it’s nearly finished, it won’t take long for the restaurant to open. Cody is planning on late February.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had the ability to totally design a new restaurant,” he said. “I’m really confident in our product. It’s first class.”

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