Earlier this year, the sleepy Village of Burton welcomed the addition of Warren’s Spirited Kitchen, a progressive dining option in a sea of humble home-style cooking. By the middle of October, Burton will say howdy to The Smith, described by management as a “contemporary smokehouse.”

For the past 18 months, owners Art and Linda Smith, who have run Meadow Ridge Events for decades, have been working to convert the old Belle’s Colonial Restaurant in the heart of town into The Smith (14608 W. Park St., 440-273-8039), which executive chef William Burke describes as an updated take on the country kitchen concept.

“I enjoy the idea of doing revivalist cooking; using recipes that have been forgotten along the way or replaced with more convenient ones,” says Burke, who for the last three years served as chef de cuisine at the nearby Walden Inn and Spa.

Diners can look forward to a menu that makes modern use of techniques like smoking, canning, pickling and other traditional forms of preserving foods, many of which will be sourced locally at the peak of freshness. From that Southern Pride pit will come a wide array of slow-smoked meats like pulled pork, ribs, sausage and chicken, but also bacon even chili meat.

“Smoke will touch almost every menu item,” Burke says.

Smoked herbs will season split chickens, which will then be cooked confit-style before a hot bath in the deep fryer. Whole wings will be smoked. New Creation top round will be smoked, shaved, piled into caraway and salt encrusted brioche and served with smoked au jus. Seared trout will come with sweet potato hash and smoked butter sauce. Sweet potatoes will be smoked and turned into gnocchi.

For dessert there will be old-fashioned pies like rhubarb, apple and chocolate chess pie made with a splash of local buttermilk.

“Belle’s used to be known for their pies,” notes the chef.

The transformation from Belle’s to The Smith pared down the dining room from about 190 seats to just 66. As the business gets its bearings it will expand into the rear of the space. The restaurant will serve dinner five nights a week and weekend brunch.

For those living in the area, the news of another quality dining option means there will be fewer trips into town, says Burke.

“I think that Cleveland – and Chagrin – are getting almost over saturated with restaurants so instead of wanting to go all the way downtown, why don’t they come to us instead,” explains Burke. “On one side of us we have JC’s, a sort of greasy spoon that every small town has. And then across the square we have Vince [Thomascik] at Warren’s. We’re kind of filling the niche right in the middle.”

The Smith is on schedule to open on October 19.

This article appears in Sep 28 – Oct 4, 2016.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

7 replies on “The Smith, a ‘Contemporary Smokehouse,’ to Open in Burton”

  1. Why is my comment deleted? You offended? It seems as if William Burke offended JC’s with his ignorant “Greasy spoon” comment. Will not eat there, especially with William Burke working there, it seems he has bad taste in language to competitors.

  2. JC’s is a great, affordable, family friendly restaurant and a long time part of the community. Calling it a greasy spoon is completely inaccurate.

  3. In my world the term “greasy spoon” is an immediate attraction. It signifies food from scratch,wholesome service, the best pattymelt I have ever indulged in. When on any vacation I always ask my driver “where is a great greasy spoon?” I am never disappointed .. Please don’t words or terms define you. greasy spoon is actually a great choice of wordage. There is a ***** star place in Or. With this name. Please dare to share the square.. BURTON ROCKS?>?>?

  4. I’ve eaten at JC’s and Warren’s Spirited Kitchen and look forward to trying the Smith as soon as it opens! The different food options make Burton a greater variety of dining and more choices on a busy night. We wouldn’t be Burton Village without JC’s, Warren’s or new and exciting, restaurants! Welcome Smith’s!

  5. I was a bit offended too, at Burke referring to JC’s as a “sort of” greasy spoon. I think of a greasy spoon as a dive and JC’s is NOT a dive. We have never had a bad meal there. They have great food. Their steaks & burgers are delicious. We eat at other restaurants too, but since JC’s is local and consistently good, we go there often. I think it was in poor taste to call it a greasy spoon.

  6. You people getting offended at the phrase “greasy spoon” need to relax. It is not an offensive term. It is a term of endearment. Chill.

  7. I was offended by the term “greasy spoon” used to describe JC’s Restaurant, but to be fair I decided to Google the term. Well, the term “greasy spoon” IS considered to be a derogatory term. JC’s is loved by many many Burton and area residents and it is well worth a trip to eat there. I can only hope that the term was used without any thought or knowledge of the meaning of the term “greasy spoon”. JC’s is part of the real heart of Burton.

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