Shug’s owner Tiffany Day, right, stands outside while chef Brittany Sprinkle looks outside the window of the newly opened Shug’s BackStrEATs kitchen. – Karen Kistler

Karen Kistler

karen.kistler@salisburypost.com

 

SALISBURY — Lunch is served.

Shug’s at Brooklyn South Square is offering lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., said Tiffany Day, co-owner and operator of the business, located at 209 S. Lee St., Salisbury.

Shug’s BackStrEATs, which is what Day has named the kitchen, is a delivery and pick up to go window, following the concept of a food truck; however it’s attached to the building, she said.

The menu for BackStrEATs is available on the Shug’s website, shugsnc.com, where people can order or see the menu and specials for the day. Orders can also be placed at the window, which is located in the back of the building where the deck is and where the food is paid for and picked up like a food truck, said Day.

Those wishing to sit outside may do so either on the deck or the patio area at the front, she said, but right now it is a bit hot.

Currently during the day, she said she doesn’t have the inside of the bar open, but that is subject to change. At present, it is to go or eat outside as for seating availability.

This most recent addition of having lunch officially started a couple weeks ago, but it isn’t a totally new idea for the business as Day said they served food when Shug’s first opened in August 2021.

With all that she was doing at that time, Day said “it was just too much for me. I just never felt comfortable with the kitchen and really couldn’t wait to get it closed and once I did, I really did not think I would open it back up to the capacity that I am.”

They were doing private events and served food at certain events, but she had not planned to be open on a regular basis; however, Day said things lined up and she wanted to use the kitchen more than it was at the time and considered a commissary, but then decided, “instead of doing that, let’s just give this one more shot, let’s take two.”

She said that everything “just aligned perfectly including having someone who I just think is brilliant in the kitchen, and having her in there has really been a game-changer,” plus Day said she is in a better spot emotionally, something she wasn’t during COVID, which was tough, but she is back to being herself and said with a big smile, “it’s feeling really good.” 

Cooking up the food creations at Shug’s is Brittany Sprinkle, who Day said she calls Hex Chef Sprinkle, “because she’s always cooking up some magic.”

“I’ve always loved cooking,” said Sprinkle.

The idea to bring back lunch actually came up the week before they started serving it, said Day, adding that they did this very quickly.

“I’m like that,” she said. “I’m a worker bee at heart, and I enjoy creating spaces and connections with people. That’s what I like to do.”

They have a regular set menu which they serve, but Day said it could be added to or changed in time. But for now, it’s a set menu with some specialties that they offer. For the week of July 4th, the special was a hot dog theme menu, which they called Any Way You Want It, because as the name goes, you could have it any way you want it, plus “all of our food is named after songs,” something she said she has always done and will continue to do.

Included on their lunch menu, Day said they are bringing back a lot of the old favorites that people had, and “people definitely had favorites here and people have missed the food and I have heard nothing but that for over a year of how much people really wanted food back.”

Their focus is currently on those past specials, but Day said she was sure they would start introducing some new ones, noting that she is letting Sprinkle “own this baby as much as she can.”

In speaking of Shug’s BackStrEATs, Day said she thinks “it’s a good place if you are a foodie,” noting the bold flavors and how everything is freshly made, not just pre-prepared and waiting to be reheated.

The burgers are hand pattied, she said, and the fries are fresh cut, two things that Sprinkle said she was working on preparing for that day.

And, Day said, they cook their own chicken and make homemade chicken salad and “we candy our own bacon. Everything we cook back there, she puts her hand in and it’s actually made,” Day said of Sprinkle.

Shug’s is an original art venue, she said, as they feature original art and music telling of the open mic night every Monday.

In August, the business will be celebrating its fourth anniversary, and it’s a place that Day said has a certain vibe, noting that Shug’s BackStrEATs “goes along with the creative space we are already giving there.”

Artist Shannon Quick, she said, is also painting a mural that will be along the outside of the building and goes with the BackStrEATs theme as well.

“I’m just trying to create a space that I enjoy and hope other people like it,” said Day. “That’s the kind of connection I’ve tried to make with people. It’s a slow growth, but it seems to be working.”