Wood-fired pizza & self-pour taproom brand new to Georgia coming to Warner Robins, Macon
Known for wood-fired pizza and self-pour taprooms, Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is coming to Warner Robins and then to Macon. Courtesy Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom.
Four friends who grew up in the Middle Georgia area are bringing a Florida-based restaurant brand that specializes in wood-fired pizza and self-serve taprooms to Warner Robins and Macon.
Nimesh Patel and Darshil Patel of Warner Robins, Jigar Patel of Macon and Divyansh Prajapati of McDonough formed Elite Quad Group LLC to open the franchise restaurants.
Their first Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is going into a new Warner Robins shopping center at 1012 Ga. 96, Suite 700 and 800.
The new spot is expected to open in late spring or early summer, said Nimesh Patel, who graduated from Houston County High School in 2014 and went to Middle Georgia State University and Georgia State University each for a year before leaping into business.
“We all come from business backgrounds, from retail stores, the hotel industry, hospitality, and we’ve also worked in the food business as well in the past,” Patel said. “We all grew up in the Warner Robins/Macon area, and it was something that we wanted to bring to the community.”
The brand is not only new to Middle Georgia but to the rest of the state as well.
“It’s an experience that’s very unique where you’re able to enjoy every moment with your family, friends, whoever you’re there with,” said Patel, who noted the pizzas are brought to table after ordering at a counter. “You’re able to just go grab a glass, pour your own drink.”
A buffalo chicken signature pizza from Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom. The pizza is made with buffalo sauce, mozzarella, chicken and banana peppers, baked in the wood-fired oven and then topped with fresh green onions, blue cheese dressing and scratch-made raspberry sauce, according to the menu. Courtesy Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom.
What to expect
Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom uses aged oak wood to heat up its oven to about 900 degrees, allowing pizzas to be baked in about two minutes.
The pizza dough and sauce are made in-house with meats and veggies that are sliced fresh daily. The meats are roasted in the wood-fired oven to infuse a smoky flavor.
“Everything is made from scratch,” Patel said.
The pizzas are crafted at a circular station. The dough is stretched out, the sauce is added, next toppings and then “the pizza goes into the oven, comes out of the oven, goes for a quality check, looks good, then comes straight to the table,” Patel said.
Smokin’ Oak offers 12 signature pizzas, or customers may build their own from more than 30 cheese, vegetable and meat toppings.
The open kitchen design allows customers to see their pizza being made and baked.
“Our main focus is on pizza so we can maintain that quality of the freshness of the pizza,” Patel said.
Patel’s favorite signature pizza is the buffalo chicken. The pizza is made with buffalo sauce, mozzarella, chicken and banana peppers, baked in the wood-fired oven and then topped with fresh green onions, blue cheese dressing and scratch-made raspberry sauce, according to the menu.
The “alfredo-licious” signature pizza from Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom. The pizza is made with alfredo sauce, mozzarella, applewood bacon, chicken, red onion and red pepper flakes, baked in the wood-fired oven and then topped with fresh spinach and cracked pepper, according to the menu. Courtesy Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom.
Another popular signature pizza is the “alfredo-licious.” The pizza is made with alfredo sauce, mozzarella, applewood bacon, chicken, red onion and red pepper flakes, baked in the wood-fired oven and then topped with fresh spinach and cracked pepper, according to the menu.
For starters, Smokin’ Oak offers stuffed cheese bread, garlic cheese bread and their “urban legend.” The urban legend is the restaurant’s signature dough stuffed with mozzarella, Parmesan, pepperoni and jalapenos and topped with cheese, garlic and oregano. It’s served with a side of ranch dressing and crushed tomato sauce.
Three salads are also offered: Smokin’ Oak Salad, Caesar Salad and a Chopped Blue Cheese Salad. The Smokin’ Oak salad includes mixed greens, roma tomato, Parmesan, sunflower seeds, and red onion with house Dijon vinaigrette.
Desserts include cinnamon glazed knots, wood-fired apple pie and s’mores dip. Available only for dine-in, the s’mores dip consists of chocolate and marshmallows placed in the wood-fired stove until the chocolate is “gooey and the marshmallows are toasted,” according to the menu. The dip is served with a side of graham crackers.
Known for wood-fired pizza and self-pour taprooms, Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is coming to Warner Robins and then to Macon. Courtesy Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom.
Self-pour taproom
Smokin’ Oak uses RFID enabled bracelets to track purchases of customers at the taproom wall. Customers can get a bracelet after a driver’s license check at the counter when they come into the restaurant.
The Warner Robins location is expected to have 30 taps of beer, mixed cocktails and wine, Patel said. Five of the taps will change periodically.
The owners are still working on their exact list but they expect to offer craft beers, including from local breweries like Fall Line in Macon, Patel said.
“We’ll have some domestic beers, IPAs, pilsners. One is going to be a nitrogen tap, which is going to be Guinness. So, we’re going to have a very specific variety,” Patel said.
Guests are charged by the ounce, which leaves them free to sample the variety of offers on the taproom wall, according to Patel.
“You do not have to pour a whole glass,” Patel said. “If you want to test it out, you can just pour an ounce, taste it. If you don’t like it, you can take another glass for another.
“Everything you pour, you get charged by the ounce. … All our customers will get the chance to try every single beer without having to purchase the whole glass,” he said.
Beer and wine glasses can be found at the tap wall, where customers will tap their bracelet on a screen to begin a pour.
“You tap your bracelet, you pour how much ever you want,” Patel said. “You can pour a little bit.
“If you don’t like it, you move on to the next tap.”
Each of the taps has information about the product.
“So you know where the beer comes from,” Patel said. “Is it a local or is it an out of state beer?
“How many percentages of alcohol is it? What are the notes? Is it a fruity note? Is it sweet? Sour? All those specifics will be displayed on the tap wall,” he said.
Another cool feature
The interior design will include a garage-style indoor patio.
“There’s going to be our main entrance door — the traditional door where you walk in, and then on the right hand side of it — where Suite 800 is — is going to be a garage door that opens up,” Patel said.
“You get that outdoor patio feel while you’re still inside,” he said.
The garage-style indoor patio likely will be opened during warm weather in the spring and summer, Patel said.
The design is similar to a Smokin’ Oak in Brooksdale, Florida. Looking at site photos on the restaurant’s Google profile, the inside patio area with the garage door is separated from the rest of the restaurant by a glass wall with a door.
That allows for customers who prefer air conditioning to still take in the natural light from the outside, while those on the patio enjoy an “outdoor feel while being covered,” Patel said.
A Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is going into a new Warner Robins shopping center at 1012 Ga. 96, Suite 700 and 800. The Florida-based brand is known for wood-fired pizza and self-pour taprooms. Becky Purser The Telegraph.
Hands-on
While they’ll employ a full management staff, the friends also expect to be hands-on to ensure the best possible customer service, Patel said
“This is for the long term,” Patel said. “It’s not that we will be there, you know, the first three months for opening, and then you never see us.
“We want to be a part of the community. We want to stay in touch. We want to do different things, bring in different specials, or game days, or whatever it is that we can do to make a nice environment where we’re willing to do everything we can,” he said.
Patel said they’ve signed a territory contract with Smokin’ Oak.
“Our plans already are to expand, but as of now, our main focus is on getting the Warner Robins location open, and then from there on, we’ll have more updates on where the other location will be taking place in Macon,” Patel said.
Smokin’ Oak was developed by lifelong friends Matt Mongoven and Linda Black off of Pi Wood-Fired Pizza that Black opened in 2009 in Rochester, Minnesota, according to the company website. They started franchising as Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza in 2016. The taproom concept was added in 2020.
Currently, there are seven Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom locations, with new restaurants expected to open in Warner Robins and Kansas City, Missouri, in the first half of 2025 and in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and in North Carolina later in the year, according to an email from Mongoven.
Also, the company website lists a future location coming to Dallas-Fort Worth in addition to Macon.
The sign is up for the new Warner Robins location with the buildout pending city approval of permits, according to Patel.
A Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is going into a new Warner Robins shopping center at 1012 Ga. 96, Suite 700 and 800. The Florida-based brand is known for wood-fired pizza and self-pour taprooms. Becky Purser The Telegraph.
