Dixie's Smokehouse Texas B.B.Q. & Rotisserie in Kings Park closes, but is set to reopen in Smithtown with new name
Dixie's Smokehouse Texas B.B.Q. & Rotisserie, Kings Park: This long-standing barbecue spot has closed, but it's set to relocate this spring with a new name and updated menu. Credit: Newsday/Ana P. Gutierrez
One of Long Island's longest-standing barbecue joints, Dixie's Smokehouse Texas B.B.Q. & Rotisserie in Kings Park, has closed. The spice-rubbed briskets and ribs have not vanished forever, though — they'll reappear in a new spot, and under a new name, later this spring.
That new business, Andersen's Smokehouse Grill, is set to debut on Main Street in Smithtown in the shopping center anchored by Costello's Ace Hardware, according to Dixie's/Andersen's manager Chris Goldmann. While Andersen's will have slightly lower number of seats than in Kings Park, "it is a better location," Goldmann said, with more visibility.
Dixie's opened in 2009 during the first mini-barbecue boom, taking up residence in a space near the Kings Park LIRR station. The low-key eatery with paper-mat-covered tables gained attention for its baby-back ribs and tender brisket. On the patio, you could watch the trains come and go; inside was a view of chickens spinning on the rotisserie.
The pit-smoked meats will remain, but the menu will shift, said Goldmann, with "four to five breakfast items" among the dishes. And while Dixie's had a bar, Andersen's will not.
To put Dixie's longevity in perspective, of the barbecue specialists in Nassau and Suffolk counties, the oldest — Bobbique in Patchogue — has only been open 13 years, according to Erica Marcus' article on Long Island barbecue in Newsday's FeedMe magazine. Almost half of all Long Island barbecue joints opened in the last three years, five of them in the last 18 months.
