A new location means more than one more place to pick up Nancy’s Bar-B-Q. Opening a stand-alone building at Lorraine Corners to house the new restaurant site means a new smoker also burns there.

Up until now, the storefront location at Main Street Lakewood Ranch has served food shuttled all the way from Downtown Sarasota. “That’s obviously not ideal. It’s a lot of heavy lifting, literally and figuratively,” says owner Nancy Krohgold.

Now, the new Nancy’s locale serves as a central point for the growing company. Grown from a traveling roadside barbeque business to a three-location restaurant and catering company, the Nancy’s brand popularity and recognition has traveled like the smell of North Carolina dry rub through the air.

The new Nancy’s location will feel familiar to those who know the original downtown location well. The spot has also become where Krohngold now keeps an office.

As for the Nancy’s on Main Street Lakewood Ranch, Krohngold expects soon to announce an evolution to the store. A small venue with seating for under 50, she anticipates it serving more of a to-go crowd in the future, selling warm sides that can be made on site.

Meanwhile, Krohngold keeps finding a larger audience interested in simple yet flavorful foods.

“I’m not curing cancer or solving any great societal or economic woes,” she says. “But everybody’s got to eat three meals a day. Barbeque is accessible food. Meat eaters enjoy it from the get-go, and I think we offer enough vegetarian and other options to satisfy.”