The culinary options locally became more diverse when SmokeWorx, 407 S. 25th St., welcomed diners for the first time in March. Top-notch barbecue has arrived in Fort Dodge.

SmokeWorx is the third local eating establishment to be part of the Fort Dodge-based Infinity Restaurant Group. The company also owns two long-established properties – Community Pizza, 2026 Fifth Ave. S., and Sneakers, 1317 Central Ave. All three restaurants are locally owned and operated.

Mychael Mueller, Infinity’s chief executive officer, said SmokeWorx is a unique entry into the town’s restaurant world.

“We’re obviously into barbecue,” Mueller said. “We’re known for our ribs and brisket. We have pork, beef, chicken. If you are a meat fan, we have a wide variety of protein, great portion size – a great value meal at an affordable price.”

He said the restaurant emphasizes both the quality of the meal and getting it to the customer quickly.

“We’re known for our new niche – we’re fast casual,” Mueller said. “That’s a new sector of the food business. Our ticket times are less than five minutes. We can get you in and out in under 20 minutes and you have top-quality food at a reasonable price.”

While SmokeWorx has a comfortable dining room that can seat up to 92, those patrons on the go never need to leave their car to obtain anything on the menu. There is a drive-thru window.

Having that option isn’t common for a barbecue eatery, according to Mueller.

“There are only about 100 barbecue restaurants in the nation that do drive-thru,” he said.

That feature has already proved to be extremely popular with Fort Dodgers.

“That’s our No. 1 draw,” Mueller said. “I was shocked. People love the drive-thru. It’s quick, convenient and they can be served without having to get out of their car. … Everybody is on the go. Kids have all these activities. There is always too much to do.”

Stephen Larsen, director of operations for Infinity who focuses much of this time on SmokeWorx, said approximately 45 percent of the customers use the drive-thu option and its popularity continues to grow.

Mueller said he expects its popularity to become even greater come winter.

“When Iowa winter hits, if you don’t have a drive-thru window, you will wish that you did,” he said.

Mueller and Larsen both stressed, however, that convenience is not the most important part of the SmokeWorx story. They said the quality of the food and attentive customer service are truly the features that are building the restaurant’s popularity.

“We try to offer the best quality service we can for price that you are paying,” Larsen said. “What sets us apart is you can’t go anywhere in this town and get good barbecue like this. We use the best quality ingredients as locally sourced as possible.”

Mueller elaborated on that point, noting that everything is prepared on-site.

“We do it fresh daily,” he said of the approach to food preparation. “You’re not getting smoked food that might have been in a cooler for a week. The sauces are all homemade. We have five different sauces.”

While patrons at SmokeWorx won’t wait long for the food they order, the nature of the offerings means that the preparation time begins long before the final product is ready. The smoking process can take anywhere from three to 18 hours.

Larsen said he takes pleasure in seeing customers’ reaction to food.

“Because of what we do, we put so much time into the product we serve – for example before you get that brisket we serve, we put 14 hours of work into that – it’s rewarding to watch someone eat and see they enjoy it,” he said. “That makes all the work worth it.”

Catering

Infinity Restaurant Group offers extensive catering options and SmokeWorx is a big part of that part of the business.

“Right now we are catering every day, 600 meals a day,” Mueller said. “It can be anywhere from 1,000 people to 10 people.”

Tony Faro, director of catering, said he and his staff are committed to working with customers to craft a solution that perfectly meets their particular needs.

“It’s basically nothing too small and nothing too large,” he said of the catering capabilities. “We like challenges and are willing to go that extra mile. We want to provide top quality at a reasonable price.”

About SmokeWorx

The building that houses SmokeWorx was previously a Long John Silver’s. It has been completely redone.

“We’re state-of-the-art,” Mueller said. “We bought an old Long John Silver’s that was kind of making our town look rundown. We went in here and remodeled it 100 percent. We gutted the whole area.”

The interior work is finished. Mueller said upgrades to the outside of the building will take place this summer.

While the Fort Dodge SmokeWorx is Infinity Restaurant Group’s first barbecue-themed venture, it may be a prototype for further expansion, Mueller said.

“We would like to do more of these in surrounding areas,” he said. “We feel we are in a niche with potential. There are a million burger joints, but you don’t see a lot of fast-casual barbecue places. That’s what we are going after. It’s a growing trend nationwide. It’s the fastest growing trend in the food business right now. I think people are looking for something different and demanding quality.”

At age 25, Mueller said he has found a profession that he truly enjoys.

“I really like setting up restaurants with different themes, decorating them, the planning of it.”