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• Black Dog Smoke & Ale House spices up Urbana

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An interior look at the newly opened Black Dog Smoke and Ale House in Urbana. (Anne-Marie Cheely)

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Black Dog Smoke and Ale House, a new barbeque restaurant located at 21 N. Broadway Ave. in downtown Urbana, heated up its grills the week of February 15 with a low-key opening day. Owner Mike Cochran relied on word of mouth to build a buzz about his restaurant as he and his partner Pedro Heller worked out the kinks in their business.

Cochran and Heller are no strangers to the food service industry. “I bartended at the Esquire Lounge for the last 15 years,” Cochran said. “My partner Pedro has been in the bar and restaurant service for the last 30 years.”

“I’ve been in the bar service since 1975,” said Heller. “I’m Cochran’s partner; I help him as he manages Black Dog.” Cochran said he found inspiration for the restaurant’s name from his family. “My wife and I have two black dogs. We took the dogs to dog training and they called us ‘Team Black’ there. When we started thinking about a name, it sounded good.”

Black Dog offers a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu during its 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekdays hours and 7a.m. to 2 a.m. weekend hours. Black Dog offers a pretty standard breakfast menu including a variety of omelets and biscuits with gravy. Black Dog’s specialty sauces consist of a main vinegar-based sauce as well as a peach-based sauce. “Honestly, I would recommend it all,” Cochran said. “Our smoked chicken wings have been a success so far. We’ve been selling a long of ribs and briskets too.” Heller advised customers to order any of their meat selection, ranging from pulled pork to smoked catfish. “I’d recommend the peach-based sauce. I like a sweet barbeque.”

Customers coming in during busy lunch hours should anticipate quick and convenient service, said Cochran. “At lunchtime, we try to make sure everything gets out really quickly. We prepare the food ahead of time and keep it fresh and heated, so you can expect to be served really quickly.” In addition to a variety of food, Black Dog offers a fair choice of ales. Acording to Cochran, “we have a good selection of beers; most ... from the Midwest.”

Cochran said the crowd has been diverse so far, with ages 21 on up. Although Black Dog only has one television right now, customers can expect the atmosphere to cater to the CU fans. “[Last night], the tables were packed for the Minnesota game.” “It’s a casual place where you can relax and get some good food and some good beer.”

According to Heller, the restaurant has been an early success.“It’s been a little hectic. But, it appears our product is being well accepted.”