Smokies Craft BBQ In Toms River, NJ Is Now Closed

The restaurant industry can be tough and unforgiving, but being able to own and operate your own restaurant at the Jersey Shore is a dream for millions.

Sadly, times are tough right now, and it's affecting a lot of beloved local restaurants, including what was one of the best BBQ spots in Ocean County.

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More And More NJ Restaurants Are Announcing Closures

The biggest shock from the past few days was learning that Chef Mike's ABG in Seaside Park was going to be closing at the end of this year.

We were stunned by this news, more on the announcement here.

But locally owned spots aren't the only victims of having to close, seemingly out of nowhere, Bahama Breeze in Toms River closed its doors without warning.

More on the Bahama Breeze closure can be found here.

A Beloved Local NJ BBQ Hot Spot Has Now Closed All Its Locations

In my opnion, local always wins; I'd rather pay a few extra bucks in order to support a restaurant that's owned by other members of my community than give my hard earned cash to a large corporate restaurant.

However, more and more often, we're seeing the local places have to close up shop for good.

Smokies Craft BBQ in downtown Toms River appears to have suddenly closed its doors Photo Credit: Buehler

Sadly, that seems to have been the case for Smokies Craft BBQ, as it appears as though they've closed their new location in Downtown Toms River only a few short months after opening.

Smokies Craft BBQ Closes All Of Its NJ Locations

If you never ate a Smokies, you really missed out. They had delicious, slow-smoked pulled pork sandwiches, brisket, and so much more; it was really one of my favorite spots for local BBQ.

At one point, they had a location in Bayville, as well as Downtown Toms River, and even operated a small food truck at local community events.

The Bayville location closed a few months ago seemingly out of nowhere, and as I was walking around Toms River the other day, I noticed this sign on the front door of the Smokies Craft BBQ of Main Street.

Smokies Craft BBQ in Downtown Toms River Had A Sign On Is Door saying they're closed for business Photo Credit: Buehler

Smokies is closed, but something new is going to take its place. I'm so curious to see what's in store next for this location, and hopefully it's not the last we see of Smokies, because their food really was out of this world.

In the meantime, Jersey is filled with some pretty amazing BBQ spots you can check out.