The newly-named Tucker’s Taproom and Smokehouse in Mattituck has undergone a few changes lately — the biggest of which is a new partnership.
Chris Hujber, the general manager when the restaurant was known as Meats Meat BBQ Smokehouse/Tuckers Taproom, and Patrick Donagher of Alewife Brewing have joined forces in their hope to become Mattituck’s favorite local spot. (Pitmaster Larry Mondello of Meats Meat has moved on, continuing his smoked meats catering business.)
“We’ve been on the same page since day one,” says Donagher. “That doesn’t happen so often … Chris had a vision for the place and a passion, and the passion won me over.”
The partners consider Tucker’s Taproom and Smokehouse a family business, and their respective families have stepped up to get the business rebranded and to assist Hujber after a recent health scare.
In June, Hujber suffered a heart attack while alone at the restaurant. His girlfriend, Karen Petrowski, called him just as he was losing consciousness and quickly dialed the Mattituck Fire Department.
“They were here in under five minutes,” says Hujber. “They did everything right. They called ahead to the hospital (Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead) and they were ready to operate when I got there,” he recalled. “They saved my life.”
As Hujber recovered, Petrowski, Donagher and his wife Roz leaned in to keep the business going. Slower than usual business in June, which many local businesses experienced, was perhaps a blessing in disguise — the partners used the time to train new staff and prepare for the season.
“We’ve rebranded, we have new menu items, and we put hospitality first,” says Patrick Donagher. “Our staff is fantastic, and I believe that people are starting to notice that.”
“We’re getting a lot of locals too, which was our goal,” said Hujber. “Our Sunday nights have been extremely busy.” Hujber, along with chef and pitmaster Christie De Feo, have taken on the smoking duties at the establishment.
The extended kitchen hours on weekends have helped; the kitchen is open until 9 p.m. from Friday-Sunday, and patrons may order from a scaled-down bar menu until 10 p.m., which includes a brisket burger, pork “wings” and other goodies. “When people come in after 8 o’clock they are happy to see we are still serving food,” says Patrick Donagher.
Hujber has continued to tweak the menu after receiving customer feedback, adding a half-rack and a full rack of ribs instead of selling the ribs by the pound. “Everything on the menu is absolutely fantastic,” says Patrick Donagher.
The full bar has expanded to offer a range of drinks; beer choices include Alewife’s brews (available in cans to go), German and Mexican lagers, Guinness on draft, and Miller Light, among many others.
They also have frosé and mango margaritas, local wines and hard ciders, nonalcoholic beer and mocktails. There’s a new Bloody Mary recipe, made with horseradish from Schmidt’s Farm, for the early birds who come in to watch morning European football games. The Taproom’s espresso martini is made with coffee from NOFO Roasting Company, and they worked with Fit Foods in Southold to develop the non-alcoholic drink recipes.
The outdoor area continues to be family-friendly, with kids playing soccer as their parents enjoy a drink at the picnic tables. And dogs are welcome too — “we even have a doggie ice cream truck come,” says Patrick Donagher — Salty Paws Doggie Ice Cream truck, which stops by on weekends. You’ll also find the folks from North Fork Big Oyster Farm grilling their oysters outside on weekends as well.
The restaurant has live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons and will hold Oktoberfest on September 20-21 and September 27-28 with a schedule of games and events. Follow the restaurant’s social media for the latest updates, or just follow your nose over to Mattituck to see what’s on tap.
