WEIRS BEACH — It took a decade for the Mariano Restaurant Group to start their three first locations, but the family-run company has adopted a brisker pace in the Lakes Region, announcing this week their third local restaurant in two years.
MRG’s first restaurants were located on either side of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. The company first made a splash in the Lakes Region a couple of years ago, with DOX on Winnisquam, then followed up last year with DOX on Winnipesaukee, located on the Winnipesaukee Pier.
This year, they hope in time for Memorial Day, they will open a second location for The Alamo, a Texas barbecue and tequila bar. The location is 70 Endicott St. N., the location long known as the home of the Weirs Beach Lobster Pound, and more recently known as the restaurant 70 North.
The menu for the Weirs location will be a carbon copy of the company’s first Alamo location, in Brookline. However, they hope to provide a more festive atmosphere, making use of the Weirs location's unusual features.
“We will have live music on the roof deck,” said Jillian Schrader, part of the Mariano Group’s ownership team. “We will have a marketplace to sell beer and wine, butchered meats and barbecue [supplies].
“We’re bringing traditional Texas-style barbecue to New Hampshire,” said Domenic Mariano, Schrader’s brother, adding they hope to make full use of the “beautiful views of the lakes and mountains on the rooftop deck.”
Texas-style barbecue is distinct from Carolina or Saint Louis styles in that it is dry-rubbed, smoked and served dry. Those who want a wet experience can apply a sweet, vinegary, smokey or spicy sauce at the table, but that’s between them and their plate.
Practitioners of the Texas style say the sans-sauce strategy leaves nowhere to hide — the meat is either smoked well or it isn’t. To get it right, Mariano Group is bringing up a reverse-flow smoker from Georgia, and will cook their meats with fire that burns only red oak hardwood supplied by Brubee Firewood in Brookline.
“It’s more of a craft,” Schrader said about barbecue. Beef brisket, a notoriously tough cut of meat taken from the chest of a cow, becomes tender and juicy after 14 hours on the smoker. “When we’re out, we’re out,” and it’ll be 14 hours before the next batch is ready.To go with the meats, Alamo will also offer what Albert Mariano, father of Schrader and Domenic, said will be the largest tequila list in the region. He’s particularly fond of Clase Azul, and said he’d like to someday stock every tequila the state Liquor Commission sells.
In Brookline, the original Alamo has developed a loyal following among local blue-collar workers and small business owners — a clientele they think will also be hungry for barbecue at Weirs Beach.
The Mariano Group expects to do well with tourists as well, but won’t be solely for visitors. Alamo will be open year-round, something which runs against the norm for Weirs Beach.
“If you build it, they will come,” Schrader said, noting people who live in the area have to drive to Gilford, Meredith or downtown Laconia to get something to eat during the off-season. “It does seem like people are moving into the area to live year-round,” she said, noting a large condo development nearing completion just up the hill.
In terms of size, the Alamo location will slot between the two DOX restaurants. DOX on Winnisquam can seat a total of 160, DOX on Winnipesaukee can accommodate up to 250, and the Alamo, including its deck seating, can fit about 200.
After a careful expansion into the Lakes Region for DOX on Winnisquam, and a quick extension to Weirs Beach, the Mariano Group had intended to fine-tune their existing properties this year, Domenic said.
“We were only focusing on DOX on Winnisquam working smoothly this summer,” Domenic said. Their plan was actually to add a different kind of restaurant at some point, but that shifted when they learned the Endicott North location was available.
“The next plan was Mariano’s Pizza on The Weirs,” Domenic said. “Then this came up. ... Turn key, beautiful place, plenty of parking,” and no full-service barbecue restaurants within 25 miles.
His sister added their experience so far in the Lakes Region encouraged them to double- and then triple-down on their investment in the area.
“It’s extremely busy, which is great, and people are excited for new restaurants,” Schrader said.
“We will have live music on the roof deck,” said Jillian Schrader, part of the Mariano Group’s ownership team. “We will have a marketplace to sell beer and wine, butchered meats and barbecue [supplies].
“We’re bringing traditional Texas-style barbecue to New Hampshire,” said Domenic Mariano, Schrader’s brother, adding they hope to make full use of the “beautiful views of the lakes and mountains on the rooftop deck.”
Texas-style barbecue is distinct from Carolina or Saint Louis styles in that it is dry-rubbed, smoked and served dry. Those who want a wet experience can apply a sweet, vinegary, smokey or spicy sauce at the table, but that’s between them and their plate.
Practitioners of the Texas style say the sans-sauce strategy leaves nowhere to hide — the meat is either smoked well or it isn’t. To get it right, Mariano Group is bringing up a reverse-flow smoker from Georgia, and will cook their meats with fire that burns only red oak hardwood supplied by Brubee Firewood in Brookline.
“It’s more of a craft,” Schrader said about barbecue. Beef brisket, a notoriously tough cut of meat taken from the chest of a cow, becomes tender and juicy after 14 hours on the smoker. “When we’re out, we’re out,” and it’ll be 14 hours before the next batch is ready.To go with the meats, Alamo will also offer what Albert Mariano, father of Schrader and Domenic, said will be the largest tequila list in the region. He’s particularly fond of Clase Azul, and said he’d like to someday stock every tequila the state Liquor Commission sells.
In Brookline, the original Alamo has developed a loyal following among local blue-collar workers and small business owners — a clientele they think will also be hungry for barbecue at Weirs Beach.
The Mariano Group expects to do well with tourists as well, but won’t be solely for visitors. Alamo will be open year-round, something which runs against the norm for Weirs Beach.
“If you build it, they will come,” Schrader said, noting people who live in the area have to drive to Gilford, Meredith or downtown Laconia to get something to eat during the off-season. “It does seem like people are moving into the area to live year-round,” she said, noting a large condo development nearing completion just up the hill.
In terms of size, the Alamo location will slot between the two DOX restaurants. DOX on Winnisquam can seat a total of 160, DOX on Winnipesaukee can accommodate up to 250, and the Alamo, including its deck seating, can fit about 200.
After a careful expansion into the Lakes Region for DOX on Winnisquam, and a quick extension to Weirs Beach, the Mariano Group had intended to fine-tune their existing properties this year, Domenic said.
“We were only focusing on DOX on Winnisquam working smoothly this summer,” Domenic said. Their plan was actually to add a different kind of restaurant at some point, but that shifted when they learned the Endicott North location was available.
“The next plan was Mariano’s Pizza on The Weirs,” Domenic said. “Then this came up. ... Turn key, beautiful place, plenty of parking,” and no full-service barbecue restaurants within 25 miles.
His sister added their experience so far in the Lakes Region encouraged them to double- and then triple-down on their investment in the area.
“It’s extremely busy, which is great, and people are excited for new restaurants,” Schrader said.
