The owners of a popular barbecue food truck fulfilled their dream of owning a brick-and-mortar restaurant, as Jay’s Smokin BBQ preps for its soft opening Nov. 13 at 10175 Tamiami Trail in Punta Gorda.
Located where Muscle Car City’s StingRay’s Bar and Grill used to be, it will have indoor and outdoor dining options.
Now that pitmaster Jay Cammarata and his wife, Sarah, have a permanent place for their business, the menu has been expanded to include other food items.
Smoked meats will include brisket, pork, turkey and Italian sausage. In addition to being served for lunch or dinner, the smoked meats also will be sold by the pound to take home.
At the side of the restaurant is a large, fenced-in area, where the massive smoker will be cooking up to 2,000 pounds of meats, Sarah Cammarata said.
The restaurant will serve burgers and sandwiches, flame-broiled ribeye steaks, bourbon-glazed salmon and chicken dishes.
For vegetarians there is a variety of salads and sides, including crispy buffalo cauliflower, grilled cheese sandwiches and more.
There are multiple appetizers and kids’ and dessert menus.
What’s surprising is that neither Cammaratas worked in the food industry before they purchased their food truck in 2021.
“We were given our first smoker as a wedding gift and it became a passion,” Sarah Cammarata said.
Their dream of having a barbecue business grew, and on visits to relatives throughout the U.S., they sampled different styles of barbecue made in Texas, the Carolinas and St. Louis before deciding on Texas-style ribs, which require a dry rub. The Cammaratas have their own dry rub recipe and, “We don’t sauce any of our meats,” Sarah Cammarata said.
The road to opening the restaurant wasn’t an easy one, she admitted. They put in long hours beginning in July to get their 4,300-square-foot restaurant ready.
They recently left their jobs to donate time to their business. Sarah Cammarata worked as a dental assistant, and Jason Cammarata worked as a lineman for 13 years.
If that wasn’t enough to keep them busy, they are the parents of four daughters, two of whom, Athena, 9, and Olivia, 16, perform simple tasks to help their parents on weekends.
Recently the family stopped serving from their food truck, which is parked next to the restaurant, so that they could devote the hours to getting their restaurant open.
Their truck was a regular presence at Watson’s Ice Cream in Deep Creek and at events around Charlotte County.
Watson’s owners Tricia and Jay Blankenship have been heavily promoting their friends’ new business and said they hope the Jay’s Smokin BBQ truck returns soon.
Meanwhile, the Cammaratas are busy setting things up and putting the finishing touches on their restaurant.
For Jay’s Smokin BBQ’s opening, they plan to fly their older daughters, Sabrina, 28, and Isabella, 26, down from New York so the family can celebrate a business that might become a legacy for future generations.
Starting Nov. 13 through Nov. 17, the hours will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The restaurant will be closed Mondays, but Jay’s Smokin BBQ will return to its regular hours the week of Nov. 18, starting Tuesday, when it will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
