A Guy Fieri-Approved BBQ Spot Is Facing An Uncertain Future Amid Neighbor Complaints

SEBASTOPOL, CA — A Bay Area barbecue restaurant with Guy Fieri’s celebrity signoff is facing an uncertain future amid complaints from neighbors about smoke and safety, according to reports.

Sebastopol residents who live near A&M BBQ took their concerns about the restaurant’s new, larger smokers to the city council on May 5, SFGATE reported. Dozens of complaints were filed about the effects of the commercial smokers, which the restaurant acquired in the fall, according to The Press Democrat.

In a statement posted on its Instagram account in mid-May, the operators of A&M BBQ acknowledged concerns about smoke, air quality and traffic, and said they had been searching for nearly a year for a location that could better accommodate the growth of the business.

“Relocating a restaurant operation involving commercial smokers, permitting, infrastructure, and financing is a complex process that takes time, but we are committed to finding a responsible path forward,” the statement said.

A&M’s smokers are not allowed under the zoning code for the restaurant’s current Main Street location, City Manager Mary Gourley confirmed to SFGATE. The city around March asked A&M to move one of its smokers off-site, owner and pitmaster Kristopher Austin told the outlet, and that smoker was put in storage. The business was given a notice in April from the city about the smokers not being approved, and on May 28, it was given a 10-day warning to stop using its outdoor commercial barbecue in violation of zoning rules, according to SFGATE.

As of Wednesday, Austin had moved the smokers outside city limits and was shuttling food to the restaurant, but characterized the situation as unsustainable, The Press Democrat reported.

Dozens came out to support his business at a council meeting on Tuesday, including his mother-in-law and the president of the NAACP’s Santa Rosa-Sonoma County branch, which is representing Austin due to concerns about a lack of fairness or transparency on the part of the city, according to the newspaper.

A&M BBQ opened two years ago and earned praise last year from celebrity chef Guy Fieri, who lauded the creaminess and silkiness of the restaurant’s confit smoked oxtail at last year’s Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience, as chronicled on Austin’s YouTube channel.