When Shayna and Josh Shulman opened their restaurant Smugglers Smokehouse in Penticton on Main Street on May 16, it didn’t take long for word to get out.
“We didn’t get around to flipping the open sign. We had an onslaught of people who were really just excited to have barbecue again. We had friends and family and random people coming through the door,” Shayna Shulman said. “We were super busy.”
The husband-wife duo, who have over 30 years of combined experience in the culinary industry, first launched their smokehouse idea in Naramata in 2016.
After a very successful season, they set their sights on Penticton, opening a location on Winnipeg Street and later moving to Main Street.
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The goal of the restaurant was to offer something entirely unique in the region. And as the only authentic southern barbecue joint in the South Okanagan, Shulman said the menu does just that.
When they moved into the city, Shulman said they decided to up their traditional-style southern barbecue game.
“We were like, ‘Let’s go full-on southern barbecue and really try to stay as true as we can to what southern barbecue is,” she said.
The menu offers mouthwatering beef brisket, pulled pork, sausage, smoked salmon, chicken and pork ribs. They all come with sauce and sides, like Shulman’s favourite: cornbread.
Everything is made in house, using only the best meats from Canada, which are all steroid and hormone free.
Smoking meat is tricky and takes years to perfect. But Shulman said the team is always working to improve by learning more about the craft of smoking. Overall, it’s going well.
“We’ve had some Americans in here who were like, ‘You guys are actually legit. You’re nailing it.'”
