Salt Smokehouse is a big place that feels small. Their airy space in the big-budget redevelopment of Lincoln Mill is no hole-in-the-wall, yet while eating there for the first time on a recent lunch, I had a hunch this was a family business. A week in, the front-of-staff staff already shares a natural camaraderie and gives warm hospitality. The food’s a mix of classic Southern barbecue with international influences, made with care.

It feels like more than a business plan. More like someone’s dream come true and turns out it is. Salt Smokehouse is owned and operated by chef Rene Boyzo and his life-partner Ari Cahy, who works and runs Salt’s front-of-house. They have no outside investors, Boyzo says.