STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Long-time chef and proprietor John Toto has decided it’s time to close his restaurant, Joe and John Toto’s. He declared the final day for the Ocean Breeze mainstay at 809 Father Capodanno Blvd. as Sunday, Feb. 24.

In its 34-year tenure, Joe and John’s survived destruction from two hurricanes. The place has been a bright spot on the Capodanno drag in a low-lying section with few businesses.

John Toto and his late father, Joe, were known for their fresh seafood, Italian specialties like tripe and, more recently, salubrious salads.

The restaurant has also hosted horseshoe leagues, a tradition that John said will remain with the new owners.

While his decision to retire from a business he loves so much has been bittersweet John turns the spotlight and discussion away from him onto the soon-coming venue, Juicy Lucy BBQ.

Joe & John Toto's will soon be a new barbecue restaurant on Staten Island.

Opening day is anticipated for Saturday, April 13.

JUICY LUCY

Juicy Lucy will be entrepreneur Richie Holmes' second restaurant endeavor. His first was in 1999 with Taste Palace, a diner with a Sedutto’s ice cream parlor in the former Forest Avenue Pathmark, now home to a Subway in Stop & Shop.

Holmes stuck with the ice cream end of the business and owns 10 Lickety Split trucks on the Island which roam the beach areas.

“That’s perfect for me with the restaurant where it is,” said Richie.

Juicy Lucy takes its name from a cheeseburger filled with molten cheese (as opposed to the cheese on top.) A lunch and dinner menu will include that item as well -- two quarter-pound burgers ground from a blend of brisket, skirt steak, short rib and loin from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors topped or shingled with eight choices of cheese. Ribs will also be a specialty.

Richie has spent 17 years studying barbecue. He and his son-in-law Dave Peak have travelled the States learning the nuts and bolts of the craft. Peak will serve as Juicy Lucy’s pitmaster.

“The barbecue community is a really wonderful community. They taught us how to cook, showed me how to cook,” said Holmes.

On the menu at Juicy Lucy BBQ will be chicken, beef ribs plus wood-smoked pork butt and dry-rubbed ribs. (Courtesy of Richie Holmes)

“Pork ribs will have a dry rub with 15 different spices and a sweet barbecue sauce. The beef ribs will be a salt-and-pepper rub cooked over wood at 220 degrees for about 14 hours,” said Holmes.

Other draws will include Holmes’ pulled pork served the North Carolina way with a tangy, vinegary sauce.

“We don’t want to pigeon-hole our food. In Houston, Galveston, Fort Worth -- Texas barbecue is meat, it’s all steer,” said Holmes.

He added, “Being that we’re in New York I can diversify my menu.” He’ll make it more like New York City, as a melting pot of styles.

Brisket from Juicy Lucy BBQ will be presented at lunch and dinner. (Courtesy of Richie Holmes)

“We bottle our own sauce to buy -- ‘Sweet and Smoky,’ ‘Tangy' and 'Five Alarm,’ all barbecue, tomato-based sauces. They’re bottled in New Jersey,” said Holmes.

Staten Islanders can expect a “vast remodel” with wood floors, wood trim and a new bar.

“It’ll be a very rustic place,” said Holmes. “We’re building a smoke room on the outside for the wood-burning pits.”

Pits are 25 feet long and six-feet wide. Rotisseries built by Dave Close are fabricated in Houston.

“They’re stick burners -- all wood-burning, all natural,” said Holmes. Camelback-brand burners hail from Phoenix.

“So we can cook 4,000 pounds of food," said Holmes.

Barbecue styles at the Ocean Breeze eatery will be a melding of different ones from around the country.

And the location is great for Staten Islanders looking to catch a band on a weekend night.

“It’s going to be a great spot for Staten Island so close to the Verazzanno. You go down Hylan Boulevard you’re on the Outerbridge in 20 minutes. It’s just a few minutes from the expressway,” said Holmes.

Plus it has something few borough eateries have -- “a ton of parking."

Joe & John Toto’s is closed Tuesday, Feb. 5 but will reopen for lunch and dinner daily from noon to 10 p.m. until Sunday, Feb. 24. The restaurant is located at 809 Father Capodanno Blvd., Ocean Breeze; 718-979-1888.