ONTARIO — James Winans’ wife thought the pulled pork he made on Tuesday was worthy of Thanksgiving dinner.
Winans and his family members served lunch in front of his new business, What’s Smoken’, to celebrate four months in operation. The business is located in Drug Mart Plaza at 49 Briggs Drive.
Winans said he has always enjoyed grilling and wanted to open either a food truck or barbecue store. He chose a store to be able to talk to customers and help them improve their own grilling and smoking techniques.
“I just want to be able to come down here and sit and talk with people,” Winans said. “If somebody’s got a question, they can come in and I can help them try to get better quality barbecue.”
Winans said he wanted to open his business in Ontario to offer high-quality grills and accessories that grocery stores don’t offer.
“There’s a lot of big box stores out here that sell cheap grills and I hate cheap grills,” he said.
Winans carries grills, wood pellets, sauces, spice rubs and utensils in his store. He said he’s focused on selling quality products that his customers trust and can recommend to others.
Winans hours are currently 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays. He is also open Saturday morning but may change his hours based on how frequently customers visit.
