Craving wood-cooked barbecue? A long-awaited Charlotte spot opens Wednesday

After whetting fans’ appetites with catering for the last year, chef/owner Lewis Donald and co-owner Laura Furman Grice will open their restaurant Sweet Lew’s next Wednesday in Charlotte’s Belmont neighborhood. 

Long an economically depressed area near uptown, Belmont has seen a slight uptick in food businesses, with the Mediterranean cafe Siggy’s, owned by Siggy Sollitto, right next door to Sweet Lew’s. 

Sweet Lew’s is in a former auto mechanic’s shop at 923 Belmont Ave., and Grice and Donald have worked to keep that feel, with indoor and outdoor seating and a Myron Mixon smoker in the back burning hickory and pecan wood. 

The menu will include smoked chicken, ribs, Lexington-style pulled pork and brisket, along with sides and desserts. Donald also plans to offer specials, like smoked turkey, sausage, barbecue hash, Friday fish fries and fried chicken on Sundays. There also will be beer, wine and pre-mixed cocktails. Catering and take-out are still available. 

Sweet Lew’s plans to officially open at 10:30 a.m, Wednesday and stay open until all the meat is sold out. After that, hours will be 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday and closed Mondays. (All closing hours may be earlier if the day’s meats sell out.) 

Donald’s background includes stints as chef at Reid’s Fine Foods, Carmel Country Club, Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta and the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.