LAKEWOOD, Ohio - Lakewood resident Robert Togliatti plans to open a barbeque restaurant called Smok on Madison Avenue this year.

Togliatti bought the building housing Trio's Bar, 13362 Madison, last October with plans of renovating it into a full-service barbecue restaurant.

"As a result of my extensive travels throughout the USA, I saw the need for real barbecue in Lakewood and Cleveland, much like Michael Symon is doing," Togliatti said.

Well-known restaurateur Symon is planning a new barbecue restaurant, Mabel's BBQ, on East Fourth Street in Cleveland.

Togliatti said this is his first attempt at running a restaurant, but he has recruited a pit master from Austin, Texas. Food will be cooked in a large wood-fired smoker, and 20 craft beers will be offered on tap.

The menu will be simple: smoked brisket, pork, turkey, chicken, and a selection of rotating appetizers and other specialty smoked meats.

The building's exterior will be restored to the original brick facade, and new aluminum windows in front will open in an accordion style onto a Madison Avenue patio.

Seating will be picnic benches on hardwood floors. About 75 customers could be seated inside, with another 15 at tables outside.

Togliatti estimates his total investment will be about $300,000. The city has grant funds available to Madison Avenue business owners who improve the exteriors of their buildings. The grants cover 40 percent of the cost of approved renovation projects up to $30,000.

"We're going to be doing this renovation very soon, once we get all these ducks in a line," Togliatti said. "It's going to be a great barbecue place."

City Planner Bryce Sylvester said the investment Togliatti is making is important to the east end of Madison.

"Bob's investment is vital to that district," Sylvester said. "He is going to bring a new concept and a new feel to Madison and Chesterland (Avenue)."

Smok is the latest in a series of investments in the area. The Bevy in Birdtown opened late last year on Madison, and the Birdtown Brewery in the former St. Gregory the Theologian Byzantine Catholic Church at the intersection of Quail and Thrush streets is expected to open later this summer.

Meanwhile, the city is spending $6 million to repave Madison Avenue, upgrade traffic lights, and make recent improvements to nearby Madison Park, as part of a project called Madison on the Move.

"It's pretty exciting," Sylvester said. "There's a lot of investment going into that neighborhood."

Togliatti's other businesses include real estate investing, owning a mortgage company, a photography company and Lake Shawn, a fish farm, private fishing lake and cabins.

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