Smokin' Oaks Owner Loving Freedom, Community

A few years ago, Earl Kelly was clocking in and out of a 9-5 as a clinical therapist. Today, he is relishing the freedom of operating his own business.

It was April 2011 when Kelly opened the doors of on Sligh Avenue, his first business venture and first restaurant experience. For a guy with a master's degree in psychology, opening a barbecue joint may seem like an odd path, but over the last year, Kelly has grown closer to the community and fallen in love with the restaurant business.

"The Seminole Heights community has been incredibly warm and welcoming to this business," Kelly said. "I'm very pleased with our first year in business because we're getting a lot of people from all over town coming to eat here. We've got people coming up from South Tampa to get food, and for me personally, it's been a pleasure to meet people in this setting and not be pigeon holed in a profession where I can't use new ideas that I get."

A Tampa native, Kelly grew up in neighborhoods along the Hillsborough River. As a kid, he couldn’t experience barbecue in restaurants, because Tampa didn't have many barbecue places. Instead, it was in backyard family gatherings where he first experienced the flavors that would change his life.

“I remember when I was a kid my uncle would come down from Georgia and make barbecue like he did in the restaurant he owned up there, and I always wanted to have something like that,” Kelly said. “I got the idea to open a barbecue place because of that and because it was something we needed in this area. I just thought Seminole Heights is a perfect area for this because the neighborhood along Sligh Avenue had nothing like it.”

Smokin’ Oaks has grown over the past year thanks to Kelly's participation in local barbecue festivals and word of mouth around a supportive Seminole Heights community.

Kelly’s culinary expertise isn’t on the level of a master chef, so he has brought in help to create the Smokin' Oaks menu. The result has been what he calls “a collage” of barbecue styles. Marrying North Carolina style with traditional Deep South flavors, Kelly believes that Smokin’ Oaks offers something completely different from anything else around.

“We have a different type of flavor from other places,” Kelly said. “The flavors might be mistaken at times for St. Louis style, but it's not really. Our staff puts together some of the most tender and flavorful dishes you’re going to find, and our sauces are truly amazing.”

Amongst his favorites are his baked beans and the spaghetti salad, a dish which he says is somewhat rare.

“Our baked beans are made with our secret mix of different spices and flavors,” Kelly said. “Our spaghetti salad is one of our most successful items, people absolutely love it. It's kind of like seafood pasta but without the seafood, just the collage of herbs and vegetables. It's one of the items that gets people's attention.”

Smokin’ Oaks is located at 1501 Sligh Ave. For more information, call 813-735-6004.