Honey Pig BBQ, to be located at 713 W. Garland, is set to open in early May, says chef and co-owner Tony Ferrante.

The restaurant will specialize in slow-smoked beef brisket, Ferrante says. 

Ferrante, who has owned Ferrante’s Marketplace, in Spokane, for 15 years, has been barbecuing for a while as a side business. 

But when he and wife Robbie Ferrante, co-owner of Honey Pig BBQ, found the 1,300 square-foot-space, formerly occupied by Celebrations Sweet Boutique, in the Garland District, they decided to make it a home base for barbecue.

“It was a perfect fit,” Ferrante says.

He says the space has undergone a recent remodel that included; new paint, finishes, plumbing, and refrigeration. Spokane-based Scotts Plumbing LLC served as the contractor for the remodel.

In addition to smoked barbecue, the restaurant’s menu will include slow smoked pork, chicken, and traditional side dishes, such as white macaroni with peas and bacon, jalapeno slaw, and mac and cheese. The restaurant’s sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce also will be made in-house.

Honey Pig BBQ will serve U.S. Department of Agriculture prime brisket smoked over apple wood for about 12 hours.

“Good barbecue starts with the best cuts of meat,” Ferrante says.

Ferrante says he plans to have a staff of three people initially, including himself acting as what he dubs the “pit master.”