New Yuma restaurant prepares to open during pandemic

Owner remains optimistic in spite of challenges

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Summers in the Desert Southwest can be tough for local businesses. It gets even harder when you pair the end annual of the winter visitor season with the start of a global pandemic.

That's the situation facing Holy Smokes Barbecue. It's the new kid on the block in Yuma's Historic Downtown. Owner Danielle Sundwell is no stranger to owning a business during our summer months. She currently owns The Escape Room, and previously owned another eatery.

Sundwell knows how critical the months leading up to summer can be. So when the pandemic hit shortly after she opened her doors, she had no choice but to rely on faith, and the quality of her food.

Holy Smokes' dining room looks like a playground, complete with swings. The menu is filled with original dishes like medjool date infused brisket, ribs, and pulled pork.

"There's no barbecue restaurants that are on the map from like, it's only from Texas and eastward and we wanted to put Yuma on the map for barbecue so a lot of things that we do, we incorporate dates, so we have a date sauce, we infuse our ribs with dates and when we do competitions we want to get Yuma on the map because we use the dates." Sundwell told us.

She says surviving the summer is her short-term goal, but in the long run she hopes to take her recipes on the road and put Yuma on the "Best Barbecue in the Country" map.