A barbecue pop-up with a cult following is getting a permanent home in Scarborough

It’s been a while since barbecue had a moment in Toronto, but the city is once again experiencing a resurgence of Texas-style smoked meats. After a year of sold-out pop-ups, Golden Horseshoe Barbecue opened up a brick-and-mortar location at Dupont and Christie, surrounding Seaton Village in a haze of delicious-smelling smoke. And east-enders hankering for the Texan holy trinity—brisket, ribs and sausage—will be happy to know that Crosstown Craft BBQ, pitmaster Ruben Silva’s super-popular pop-up, is getting a permanent home in Scarborough later this summer.

Related: Toronto’s newest barbecue joint is already drawing crowds

After making many educational pilgrimages to Texas and learning to leverage social media, Silva attracted long lineups of hungry people at pop-ups around the city. “The support blew us away,” he says. “With help from our family, we hosted over a dozen pop-ups, served more than 1,000 people and grew our online following from 400 to nearly 30,000 across all of our platforms. We even outgrew our 500-gallon smoker, upgrading to 750-gallon Bog Line.”

Thanks to all the positive feedback, Crosstown Craft has been able to secure a space at 51 Comstock Road, in Scarborough’s Golden Mile neighbourhood (which is already a bastion of culinary delights).

The inaugural menu will include Crosstown staples like brisket, ribs (pork and beef), cheddar-jalapeño sausages and pork belly burnt ends. Silva also plans on offering rotating specials, including smoked beef cheeks and smoked lamb shanks.

Related: Smoked and Smashed, a 500-square-foot barbecue spot in Vaughan

He also plans to add a rotisserie smoker, which can cook up to 1,700 pounds of meat at a time. “It will allow us to finally feed Toronto’s growing appetite for real Texas barbecue while giving us even more room to push our craft and experiment with new flavours,” says Silva.

Silva cannot wait for Crosstown Craft’s new chapter to begin, and he is forever appreciative to the city for its enduring support. “We are beyond thankful to our family for the long hours, sleepless nights and constant support. We’re also incredibly grateful to everyone who has come out, tried our food, and supported us time after time,” he says. “Our new permanent home isn’t far from where we held our very first pop-up—it feels like we’re coming full circle.”