The fourth location of Tom Schmidt’s barbecue juggernaut opened January 17 in the former Tavern/Cucina Pazzo/Duff’s space.
“The moment we walked in the space, we thought it would be a perfect fit,” Salt + Smoke owner Tom Schmidt says of the Central West End space, at 392 N. Euclid, that previously housed Duff’s, Cucina Pazzo, and The Tavern Kitchen & Bar. “And we were right: It fits like a glove—looks like it’s been there for 120 years, seamless and timeless.”
Some of the physical changes to the three-room space are apparent, others less so, “mainly nuts and bolts stuff,” Schmidt says. In the entry room, the bar was rebuilt, including adding the signature honey-colored, knotty pine boards found at other Salt + Smoke locations. Hardwood floors were replaced throughout. The open kitchen, while still in the middle room, was closed in. And since the Salt + Smoke concept requires scratch cooking, the basement was converted into a full commissary production kitchen.