Austin’s Live Fire Barbecue opening pushed back to end of July

Construction delays have pushed back the opening of Austin’s Live Fire Barbecue.

The new barbecue restaurant was originally slated to open just after the Fourth of July in downtown Spokane. Now, chef and owner Mike Jones is hoping to open around the end of the month.

Plans for the project go back about two years, when Jones traveled to Austin, Texas, and went out for barbecue just about every night. He became enamored was the process and the smoking pits, and decided to bring his take on Texas-style barbecue back to Spokane.

Jones is the chef and owner of Mizuna, which specializes in local, seasonal, scratch-made cuisine, including a variety of vegan and vegetarian offerings.

His new Austin’s Live Fire Barbecue will specialize in wood-fired, slow-cooked, spice-rubbed brisket, pork ribs and chicken.

For lunch, expect fried chicken, pork ribs, and an array of sandwiches, including a fried shrimp po’ boy and brisket, smoked chicken and Gouda, and pork belly.

For dinner, look for apple wood-fired steaks – flat iron, ribeye and an extra-large ribeye that’s meant to be shared – along with his barbecue mainstays and appetizers such as fried okra, pork belly tacos, fire-grilled prawns, smoked onion rings, and fried wings and thighs.

Sides will be traditional but elevated. Think smoked Gouda mac and cheese, fire-grilled corn on the cob, barbecue beans with burnt ends, baked potato salad and braised greens.

And, Jones said, you won’t want to skip the pecan pie. The recipe comes from his mom, and it’s “better than any pecan pie that I’ve ever had in any restaurant,” he said.

Austin’s Live Fire Barbecue will be at 421 W. Main Ave.