Pandemic-born BBQ food truck opening Polaris-area brick and mortar restaurant

When Michael Martiny launched Martiny’s BBQ in the summer of 2020, he did so while relying on a $20 smoker and neighborhood donations. A food truck came along in early 2021, and so did a following of Polaris-area barbeque enthusiasts.

And now, only two years later, the eatery is ready to open its first-ever brick and mortar restaurant.

Martiny’s BBQ will open its first restaurant space next month, according to Martiny. It will be located at 5808 Columbus Pike in Lewis Center.

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The new barbecue spot will be replacing The Porch Ohio, a Venezuelan eatery that will close at the end of September.

“We were really lucky to get that space,” Martiny said. “Not only is it in Lewis Center, where our food truck has been for the last year and a half, there were about 20 other people that wanted it. We all agreed that barbecue makes sense for that location; it even looks like a barbecue restaurant.”

Alongside his wife Becky Martiny, longtime friends Cat and Eric Sturman are partners in the venture. Eric Sturman is the owner of Milano’s, a popular Italian restaurant in reynoldsburg.

With only a handful of seats for dine-in customers, Martiny said the new location will be primarily dedicated to pick-up orders.

“It’s going to be all about carryout. We believe this is where things are headed,” he said. “People want to get in and out with their barbecue, and that’s what we’re going to give them.”

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