“This was a dream, a vision of mine,” says Isaias Hernandez, owner of the new Craft by Smoke and Fire, a Texas-style BBQ restaurant slated to open on Green Street in Old Pasadena, April 29.
As he recalled in an interview with Pasadena Now, Hernandez and his then-pregnant wife, who live in Norwalk, were thinking about dinner about a year and a half ago, three months deep into the pandemic. She suggested Crack Shack, the former tenant at his new location.
“We’re sitting there,” he said, “and baby Jackson is in her belly. And we’re talking about growth, and the city, we’re talking about communities that we wanna be part of, with Craft by Smoke and Fire.”
The new location will join his other locations in La Habra and Paramount.
“We love giving back. That’s who we are,” he said. “So we said, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to open in Pasadena?’ And my wife said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing one day to open up a restaurant like this, like this one?’
“And then one day, there we are, talking on the phone, and we’ve secured the lease for Craft by Smoke and Fire.”
“It’s a glimpse into the future,” said Hernandez. “It’s an opportunity to give back to a community that loves giving. Pasadena has one of the largest philanthropic communities and nonprofits wanting to give back.”
And now he wants to be a part of it.
Hernandez began his restaurant career washing dishes at the Red Robin in Cerritos at the age of 15. He rose from dishwasher to General Manager before taking on the role of Corporate Training Manager.
In 2007, he was recruited by the Landry’s Restaurant Group and became General Manager of their flagship restaurant in Santa Monica, and then was recruited into the role of Franchise Director of Operations.
Isaias Hernandez, owner of the Craft by Smoke and Fire, a Texas-style BBQ restaurant slated to open on Green Street in Old Pasadena in April.
He oversaw the operations of Mai Tai Bar and Bubba Gump Shrimp Company before departing for a larger role at Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill.
It was during his tenure at Wood Ranch that he fell in love with the art of low and slow BBQ, which he now features at his own BBQ restaurants. .
And it’s all about the timing.
“We are a product of the pandemic,” he said. “We opened up our first location, June 12th, 2020. So we’ve only known the pandemic. What makes us unique is that we’re family-oriented, family-driven, family-owned. All of our recipes were a result of years and years and years of working in the industry.”
Isiais teamed up with a brother, and a best friend securing a lease on a restaurant in La Habra.
But soon after setting up for business, Hernandez noticed a news story that just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger—the pandemic and the subsequent shutdown of restaurants everywhere all over the world.
“It really brought us to our knees, took the wind out of us, humbled us. We gave ourselves about three, four days to have a pity party and get a good cry out,” said Hernandez. “After four days, we said, ‘Hey, life is filled with obstacles. Let’s show this town,’ and we opened up anyway. And we saw a huge community response.”
The doors flew open for customers buying takeout, and from there, Hernandez only looked forward.
The eatery itself is a Texas-style BBQ spot, says Hernandez, specializing in fresh BBQ.
The restaurant will open in a historic 1925-era 6,000 square-foot property, which was renovated in 2019, next door to the former location of a 1922 Fire Department livery stable, and joins a busy restaurant neighborhood, which includes Agnes Cheesery, Buca di Beppo, Gyu-Kaku, Green Street Tavern, Rocco’s Tavern, Beer & Claw, Boiling Point Concept, and 850C Bakery Cafe.
Of the menu, Hernandez offered, “We have a direct relationship with Harris Ranch in Central California, so because of this relationship, all of our meats are fresh.”
The barbeque is made from scratch, said Hernandez, with a menu that includes homemade jalapeno sausages, giant short ribs and briskets.
“We actually brine our pastrami brisket for six days,” he said, “and then we smoke it low for 12 and a half hours. We specialize in Texas-style barbecue, and we have also just added steaks to our repertoire.”
Hernandez himself favors the barbeque platter. The bountiful platter barbecue feeds four people and features giant short ribs, sliced brisket, sliced pastrami and lamb rack, along with Texas toast and four sides.
“That’s my favorite item, I think, because you get a little tasting of everything,” he said.
Including a little help.
As Hernandez explained, he is planning something special for opening night.
“We want to do something for the community of Pasadena and do something positive, in light of everything that’s happened in the last two years,” he told Pasadena Now.
How positive? Twenty lucky dine-in or takeout customers on opening night will receive free food and drinks for a year.
“That’s a $30 value,” said Hernandez. “Every week.”
“So if you come down and you buy an item and you open that item,” he said, “and it happens to have one of our platinum black diamond cards that says, ‘Craft by smoke and Fire VIP member,’ that’s free food for an entire year.”
From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on April 29th, ten black cards will be placed into a random takeout and dining options.
“We’re just gonna surprise people with something special,” he said, casually, but added that the restaurant is also dedicated to serving the local community by donating 3% of total sales to local nonprofit institutions.
“We’re looking for an opportunity to allocate 3% of our total sales towards a nonprofit,” he said. “I know Pasadena has a ton of them.”
Texas barbeque and community support. And giant short ribs. Sounds like a delicious combo.
