by TM Petaccia

Nightlife comes to Sweet Lew’s BBQ. Owner Lewis Donald is expanding the popular Belmont barbecue spot with Lew’s Libations, a bar built directly into the restaurant’s front patio and designed to keep the energy flowing after the smokers shut down for the night.

“We’ve taken one of our garage doors and created a bar,” he says. The new setup adds 14 to 16 bar seats, split between the interior and the enclosed, heated patio. Air conditioning will come to the patio when the weather warms up.

“We got a full bar, full service,” Donald says. Draft beer, cocktails, canned cocktails and wines, and even a selection of canned THC drinks will be available.

A big difference sitting at the bar is when the full barbecue menu is still being served, those sitting at the bar will receive full table service, instead of the order-at-the-register model for the rest of the restaurant.

When Sweet Lew’s closes its barbecue service at 8 p.m (or when sold out), Lew’s Libations will keep the lights on until 11 p.m., Thursday through Monday. To fill those late hours, Donald created a compact bar menu. From the start, it will include pimento cheese and crackers, house-made beef jerky sticks, candied bacon, brisket queso and chips, and boiled peanuts. “Real simple; nothing crazy,” he says.

But by spring, the menu is set to grow. Donald says guests can expect smoked burgers, pork skin nachos, crispy pig ear fries, and other “chef-driven barbecue and bar food.” He’s even considering rotating specials like smoked oyster nights.

Launching a new patio bar in December may not sound ideal, but Donald sees opportunity. “With all the football that goes on between college and pro, and hockey, and all the basketball, we feel that having this environment with good barbecue and great bourbon. We feel that by spring, we could catapult ourselves to becoming that neighborhood bar.”

Sweet Lew’s has also added seven TVs throughout the shop to carry multiple games at once.

The expanded space also positions Sweet Lew’s for more private-event business. “It really gives us a platform to do more private events,” Donald says. The team already has several booked for the holidays. Capacity will range from 25 to 125 guests, with the ability to push higher for certain types of gatherings.

One of Donald’s biggest passions is bourbon, and Lew’s Libations is channeling that enthusiasm into a new Bourbon Club launching in January. Membership will be free, including a welcome packet with stickers and a card to help guests keep track of the bourbons they’ve tried. “Your card, we’ll hold behind the bar, Rolodex-style,” he says.

Members will be invited to try 15 bourbons over time (“Not in one night,” Donald jokes), and earn prizes. “We’re thinking of a custom Yeti flask,” he says. Completing the challenge twice in a year may unlock a T-shirt and hat. Donald envisions bourbon-focused events, including themed seasonal parties. While the beverage menu already lists several quality whiskeys, it has been expanded even before the bar opens. “I’ve already added a few, and we’ll be constantly adding as we go along.”

Donald sees Lew’s Libations as the next evolution of Sweet Lew’s. “This kinda is what’s next for Lew’s in terms of our growth,” he says. “Barbecue, bourbon, and private event space kind of go well together.” Between the Carolina Barbecue Festival, the restaurant, the new bar, and upcoming projects like the Biscuits & Briskets event with Savor Charlotte on March 28, Donald says Sweet Lew’s will continue to “push barbecue forward in Charlotte.”

“We really just want to create an atmosphere for the best barbecue to have the best bourbon as well.”

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