Has Blue Belly BBQ bitten the dust? Yes (updated)
Could the absence of the smoky smell of barbecuing meat wafting down 6th Street signal the demise of Blue Belly BBQ at 600 Catharine St.?
Butcher paper is up in the windows and there are dead plants inside.
We emailed them the see what’s up but haven’t heard back. The restaurant’s phone message says they would be closed from March 19 to April 1 for vacation. That’s a bit long to extend a vacation.
UPDATE: We heard back this morning from co-owner Amy Giuffi:
We have decided to close. We are considering reconceptualizing. Generally speaking, we were busy on weekend dinners, but lunch and weekdays never got going to the degree we had needed to hit enough volume.
It’s a shame this place couldn’t make it in the former home of BYOB Little Fish. Blue Belly even got a good review from Craig Laban in November 2012 for its “unconventional takes on pit sandwiches and unexpected smoked meats.”
– Martha Rich, martharich.com
Not being open for dinner probably didn’t help either.
Not much of a lunch crowd in that neighborhood.