Owner/pitmaster Damian Brugger is testing the smoker while preparing to open Downtown Barbecue, a new restaurant Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 in downtown Santa Rosa. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat) Slide 1 of 2 Owner/pitmaster Damian Brugger is testing the smoker while preparing to open Downtown Barbecue, a new […]
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The recently closed Townes restaurant, formerly Third Street Aleworks, in downtown Santa Rosa will reopen as Downtown Barbecue in early November, according to owner and pitmaster Damian Brugger.
New signage, including faux street signs with the words Downtown Barbecue Santa Rosa California, appeared at the 610 Third St. location last week, nearly two months after Townes closed its doors after a brief nine-month run.
But the large barbecue smoker and stacks of cut wood seen outside the building were the first signs of its new incarnation.
According to pitmaster Brugger, the new restaurant will focus on classic Southern barbecue with a California twist. The Texas transplant and former Marine has opened successful barbecue restaurants in New Orleans and Kansas City and was a pitmaster for Napa's now-shuttered Stone Brewing restaurant.
The restaurant is part of a growing Southern barbecue scene in Sonoma County, including the recently opened A&M BBQ in Sebastopol and War Pigs BBQ in Santa Rosa.
According to Brugger, he jumped at the chance to bring bona fide barbecue to Northern California when the opportunity arose to take over the former Townes restaurant.
He hopes to create a "workshop and showcase of his life's work" in Santa Rosa, having spent more than 15 years running barbecue restaurants around the country. He has consulted for restaurants and breweries in every key barbecue state across the South, according to a press release about the new Santa Rosa restaurant.
Downtown Barbecue will smoke its meats on site using live oak and will serve only Third Street Aleworks beers in the restaurant. When the 7,000-square-foot Third Street restaurant and pub closed in 2023 after losing its lease, the owners moved its production and retail distribution to an industrial area in northwest Santa Rosa. The brewery was sold to new owners in May 2024.
Townes restaurant was founded by restaurateur Lowell Sheldon, whose name remains on the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license for the location. Sheldon directed all communication about the new restaurant to Brugger.
Downtown Barbecue soft-opens Nov. 2 and 3, with a grand opening planned for Nov. 7. The restaurant will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday to Monday. 610 Third St., Santa Rosa.
You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.
