LOWER PAXTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) — A locally owned BBQ eatery recently debuted its new restaurant location in Lower Paxton Township.

ShakeDown BBQ is owned and operated by two Central Pennsylvania natives named Chris and Sarah Heilig, who both grew up and graduated from Central Dauphin. This husband and wife duo first began cooking up their home-smoked BBQ back in June of 2009, when they first debuted their ShakeDown BBQ food trailer that operated out of Manada Hill.

According to Chris, just two years later he and his wife went on to open their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Grantville, Pa. which was operational from April of 2011 until their closure in October of 2019.

Now, after some years of hiatus, ShakeDown BBQ is back!

Their new restaurant is located at 1708 Fairmont Drive in Suite 1, and it officially opened last Friday, December 8. According to Chris, this new location was previously occupied by Nomad’s Pizza, which closed its doors back in October of 2023.

ShakeDown BBQ’s new location is 1,742 square feet in size and is capable of accommodating about 35 guests at a time on the inside of the establishment; although, it should be mentioned that the new eatery will also have outdoor seating available during the warmer months.

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The new restaurant is going to offer a wide variety of Chris’s home-smoked BBQ, which includes his brisket, baby back ribs, pulled pork, smoked turkey, smoked sausage, and a lot more. According to Chris, the new ShakeDown BBQ will also soon feature its very own pizza.

“We like to sell a lot of everything,” Chris added. “We are excited to use the pizza oven that was here when we moved in. We have never been known to be very traditional – we always go our own way!”

In addition to the new restaurant, ShakeDown BBQ also offers catering for any sized event – if you are interested, you can reach out to sdbbq717@gmail.com

The new ShakeDown BBQ’s hours of operation are:

• Wednesdays – Saturdays // 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Or until they sell out)

• Sundays // 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Or until they sell out)

“[Opening] is a really good feeling – you know there was a time in 2019 when we closed that we were certain that we were done with BBQ for good,” Chris explained. “It feels great to be back and its great seeing so many familiar faces from four years ago!”

Moving forward, Chris says that he hopes to expand and open more ShakeDown BBQ restaurants across the Midstate in the future.

abc27 news will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

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