Right on 'cue: Family adds Texas, New York flavors to Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — “Making good food and making people happy, I like that,” said Warren Small, owner of Smulligan’s Pizza & BBQ.

Originally opening up shop in the summer of 2018 in Royal City, Small moved the restaurant to Moses Lake for more people and kitchen and dining space.

Out with the old equipment and in with the new, along with a fresh coat of paint and some remodeling work, Smulligan’s new location at 1111 N. Evelyn Drive is set to open for drive-thru and takeout Memorial Day weekend, he said.

Dine-in will soon follow, he said, as the dining area will go through a makeover with new countertops and layout in coming months.

The building was the main prize, he said, and it just happened to be in a good location. North Central Drive is a high-traffic area, and it’s right across from the Paul Lauzier Athletic Park, which is packed on weekends.

Small’s love for cooking came from his grandmother, who owned a cafe in Bellingham, he said. He became a farmer on the Royal Slope and later opened a fabricating business to fix and design farm equipment.

Noticing the lack of barbecue in the Pacific Northwest, Smulligan’s first started as a catering business the whole family was involved in, he said, before they officially opened the first restaurant.

“I’ve always liked barbecue,” Small said. “My passion is making good food, regardless of what it is, so with barbecue I’ve taken the time to kind of figure it out.”

Small has taken fact-finding missions to Texas, he said, to study the craft and learn from the best.

“Ours is as good or better than anything down there. It literally is. We found a lot of places down there that were not…” he said, cutting the thought off with a laugh.

While Smulligan’s may be the only barbecue place around, there are several options for pizza. Smulligan’s pizza is New York style, he said, with thinner and crispier crust.

The dough and sauce are made from scratch, he said, and they use the best ingredients they can find for toppings.

“It’s a new one for the area, and everyone who’s had it in Royal loved it,” he said. “We had people coming from Moses Lake to Royal just for pizza.”

He anticipates the reverse will be true of the new location, he said.

As for the name, Smulligan’s, “It’s not a long story, but it’s a unique story,” Small said.

Small’s grandfather, about six “greats” ago, was a U.S. privateer named Jeremiah Smulligan, he said. Smulligan raided British ships for goods and brought them back to the United States.

He was good at it, Small said, and accumulated a price on his head. When he decided to call it quits, Smulligan moved inland, started farming and changed his name to Small to hide from the British.

Small looks forward to bringing his family’s work to Moses Lake, he said.

“In Moses Lake… dang it, options are limited, so we need more different stuff,” Small said. “I think it’s the perfect place.”

Sam Fletcher can be reached via email at sfletcher@columbiabasinherald.com.