Smoke Creek, a barbecue restaurant in Oak Creek, has permanently closed

Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
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Smoke Creek, a new barbecue restaurant at 10166 S. 27th St. in Oak Creek, opened in February 2021. Owner Dan Neumann custom-built a wood-fueled meat smoker behind the building.
Smoke Creek, a new barbecue restaurant at 10166 S. 27th St. in Oak Creek, opened in February 2021. Owner Dan Neumann custom-built a wood-fueled meat smoker behind the building.

The fire in the custom wood-burning smoker behind Smoke Creek is extinguished for good.

The business shut down Feb. 24 per an earlier announcement on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

“It’s with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that (Feb. 24) will be our last day of business,” the post said. “This was not a decision made lightly and many different factors were weighed in on our decision. We have truly enjoyed meeting everyone over the past two years and it was our pleasure serving you.”

The business just held a two year anniversary party on Feb. 11 with jukebox bingo, special menu items and a gift card giveaway.

Smoke Creek opened at 10166 S. 27th St. in early February 2021 complete with a custom wood-burning smoker of owner Dan Neumann’s own design. Three days, 70 bags of concrete and two pallets of cinder blocks went into its construction. A friend custom made the metal portions.

This wasn’t the first smoker Neumann built. Another is part of the food truck he runs with his wife, Jen, called “Rollin Smoke.”

Like smoke, the future of the food truck is “up in the air,” Neumann told the Journal Sentinel.

More:Atwood Hwy. BBQ restaurant to join Crossroads food hall on Milwaukee's east side after HotWax departs

When the announcement was made, the fate of the food truck was the most common question, amidst many comments wishing the Neumanns the best and mourning the loss of ribs, smoked turkey breast, burgers and burnt ends.

When the restaurant first opened it ran out of food three times.

The couple started “Rollin Smoke” about three years before the restaurant. At the time of Smoke Creek’s opening, Jen Neumann told the Journal Sentinel she and her husband “were always going to try for a restaurant.”

The building sat vacant for four years after Mazatlan Mexican Restaurant closed before Smoke Creek took over.

More:Milwaukee-area restaurants that closed in 2023

Contact Erik S. Hanley at erik.hanley@jrn.com. Like/follow his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on Twitter @ES_Hanley.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Smoke Creek, a barbecue restaurant in Oak Creek, permanently closed