One of South Philly’s New Barbecue Spots Is Already Closed

Philadelphia doesn’t have a lot of great barbecue to spare, so it’s a sad day when a recommendable smoked meat spot in the city shuts its doors. South Philly Smokhaus, the new barbecue restaurant in the Bok building at 8th and Mifflin, took a summer break during August and just announced it’s not coming back.

Owner Eric Daelhousen posted this note to Instagram on August 25:

It’s with a heavy heart that we’ve decided to close the doors of South Philly Smokhaus permanently. A huge thank you to the family, friends and everybody that came and shared a meal at the Smokhaus. We made a lot of friendships, cooked some good food and created a lot of great memories.

South Philly Smokhaus opened less than a year ago at Bok, in what had been an auto body shop on the ground floor of the high school turned trendy studio, restaurant, and retail space. Bok first got attention for its rooftop bar before adding other venues over the last few years.

This was the first restaurant venture for Daelhousen, who set up shop to sell brisket, short ribs, St. Louis-style spare ribs, smoked chicken wings, and pulled pork, served on their own or in sandwiches.

Daelhousen was working with Robert Passio of Reading Terminal Market butcher shop Giunta’s Prime. Passio set up a butcher counter next to Smokhaus but that’s closed as well since the licenses were under the Smokhaus umbrella, Passio says — but he is looking at reopening in another South Philly location.

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