Bark Barbecue, the Dominican-Texan pop-up turned Time Out Market favorite, is finally putting down roots in Bushwick. Owner and pitmaster Ruben Santana is set to open his first standalone restaurant at 25 Thames Street on Wednesday, July 1, taking over roughly an 8,000-square-foot space that packs in a 200-seat dining room and a 90-seat patio strung with lights and outfitted with a stage. The buildout revolves around four custom smokers tucked behind a glass wall, plus a full bar and a dedicated coffee counter. For Brooklyn barbecue diehards, it is the long-rumored fix for the epic lines that snaked through the Dumbo food hall.
Menu, hours and the smokers
The menu leans Central Texan with smoked brisket, pork ribs and longaniza, then detours into Dominican territory with chicharrónes, cerdo a la leña and a fried plantain loaded with carnitas fritas. Sides include spicy mac and cheese, arroz congri and Dominican tortas. Up front, a daytime coffee counter will pour Dominican cortados, naranja dulce lattes and Coco Miel starting at 9 a.m., before lunch service kicks in at 11 a.m.; closing times will shift throughout the week. The bar lineup ranges from a watermelon highball to an espresso martini made with port and a tamarindo fizz. As reported by Eater New York, the room shows off four white-oak smokers visible from the dining area and seats roughly 200 guests inside with around 90 more on the patio.
From pop-ups to a flagship
Santana started smoking brisket in his Ozone Park backyard in 2020, made his public debut at Smorgasburg in 2021 and graduated to a rooftop stall at Time Out Market DUMBO in 2022. Time Out Market now lists Bark as a recommended vendor, while Bark Barbecue's website maps out the rise from weekend pop-ups to a full-scale restaurant. The Bushwick flagship is designed to give Santana room for expanded morning coffee service, later hours and live programming that simply did not fit inside a food-hall stall.
The deal and the space
Accounts of the lease vary a bit. Commercial Observer reports an approximately 8,700-square-foot lease with a 15-year term, while Crain’s, as cited by the Brooklyn Eagle, puts the space at roughly 8,000 square feet with a 10-year lease. Leasing materials and local coverage agree on a sizable outdoor setup of about 2,000 square feet of patio seating, plus a stage ready for live music and comedy. Meridian Retail Leasing, which represented both the landlord and the tenant, said the address at 25–29 Thames Street was chosen to tap into Bushwick’s taste for distinctive dining concepts.
What to expect on opening day
Santana has framed the move as a direct response to the long waits and cramped seating at his previous spot. “Barbecue is headed in a way where people want a little bit more than what’s offered before,” he told reporters. Bark’s Time Out Market stall will stay closed through the Bushwick opening and is expected to return later in the year, Eater New York reports. Early arrivals on July 1 can look for breakfast tacos, brisket-topped plates and a string-lit patio built to pair summer-in-Brooklyn outdoor eating with the Dominican flavors Santana has been refining since 2020.
