Wolfes Smokehouse and BBQ opens downtown

Tyler Juranovich, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·2 min read

Feb. 24—There's nothing Michael Wolfe loves doing more than making good food, especially slow-cooked meats.

A Kokomo native, he's been mostly away working at various restaurants across the country for the last couple decades, but after returning to his hometown a few years ago to take care of his parents, he, along with his wife Ravin Wolfe and Blake Martin have now joined forces to start their own restaurant.

Wolfes Smokehouse and BBQ, located at 502 N. Main St. in downtown Kokomo, is now open and serving smoked brisket, pulled pork, ribs, turkey, chicken and sausage. It's the newest restaurant in downtown Kokomo and is carryout or drive-thru only.

"Downtown Kokomo has nothing like this," Michael Wolfe said. "Since I was born and raised here, it kind of feels good to come back here and open something in downtown Kokomo. ... It's very surreal. It's a wonderful feeling."

The three are at the restaurant each morning prepping and hand-trimming the meat. The restaurant's brisket is slow-cooked for 14 hours, its pork butts for 12 hours and its ribs for six hours. All meat comes in fresh, never frozen, each day and is sourced from Indiana farms.

The three believe they're serving the type of smoked meat you can't get anywhere else in town.

"We don't slather everything with sauce," Michael Wolfe said. "It's more about the meat. We're a smokehouse first and a barbecue restaurant second."

Because of the slow cook times, focus on quality and the fact it's just the three of them, Wolfes Smokehouse and BBQ has a fairly simple menu.

Meat can be ordered as an entree, as a sandwich or by the pound. Each order comes with a side and barbecue sauce. The entree also comes with bread.

The restaurant has been open for a week and has sold out of product a handful of times already.

"We don't make a lot of food," Michal Wolfe said. "I'd rather make 200 plates perfectly than make 1,000 not perfect. ... We don't have a big menu. We just want to focus on the things we have and perfect them."

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.