A move and an expansion are in the works for Dukes Bar-B-Que, a popular restaurant located just south of Aiken near New Ellenton.
The changes are “necessary, that is the most crucial word,” said Dukes owner Christian Judy during a telephone interview Wednesday.
Because of its success, Dukes has outgrown its approximately 4,600-square-foot home at 4248 Whiskey Road.
“Customer volume has increased 64% since I’ve owned this restaurant,” said Judy, 31, who took over the business after his parents, Rauly and Jan Judy, retired late in 2014. “We’ve tripled our catering business, and we’ve almost doubled our takeout business.”
If everything goes as planned, the new site for Dukes will be on Dominion Drive near a Mi Rancho restaurant.
Dominion connects with Whiskey Road and is close to the Whiskey/Talatha Church Road intersection.
“We need to get in sewage range,” Judy said. “We are on a septic system where we are now.”
The new Dukes will be built on 3 acres of a 6.64-acre undeveloped land parcel.
“We are finalizing our loan, and we hope to be closing on that in 35 or 45 days,” Judy said.
The cost of the project, including the acquisition of property, will be around $1.8 million.
But that amount “does not include the equipment cost,” Judy said. “We will be taking a lot of our current equipment with us, but we will have to add a lot more equipment to make this happen.”
The new Dukes will cover 7,400 square feet.
“It will have a full drive-through,” Judy said. “It will have private seating, and there also will be outdoor seating.”
The number of employees will increase from 12 to “18 or 20,” he added.
The design of the restaurant’s new building will have an equine theme. The interior and exterior will resemble a horse barn.
“It’s going to be very rustic,” Judy said. “I want to build something that is unique to Aiken that feels very much like a homegrown business. It will be dedicated to the community and stay true to what Aiken is, which is a hometown full of families and a horse community as well.”
David Hopkins of Dogwood Construction LLC in Aiken will be the contractor.
“We hope to break ground in April,” Judy said.
The projected completion date is December of this year or January 2021.
“When we move, we will have to be closed for a minimum of two weeks to move all of our equipment and stuff,” Judy said.
Preparing for the relocation and an expansion has been a long-term process.
“I’ve been working on this for four years,” Judy said. “I’ve spent many a night awake, going over the fine details of building a new restaurant that can hold everything.”
Judy isn't sure what will happen to the current Dukes after the new Dukes opens.
"We'll probably do our catering out of it for a while or we might rent it out," he said. "Nothing is set in stone."
In addition to barbecue, Dukes serves hush puppies, banana pudding and sides such as hash and rice, baked beans, black-eyed peas, fried okra and green beans.
There are other Dukes Bar-B-Ques in South Carolina. Judy also owns the one in Bamberg. His relatives own most of the additional Dukes restaurants.
