New CBD restaurant, Proof BBQ and Booze, to open in August

Fresh off his success in Brisbane a veteran restaurateur is set to open his latest venture in the heart of the Toowoomba CBD.

Owner Ryan Lane and the manager Steph Edmondson of Proof BBQ & Booze to open in Duggan Street. Picture: Nev Madsen.

In good news for lovers of cold beer and smoked meat, the city’s newest bar and restaurant is set to open in about a month.

Ryan Lane from Proof BBQ and Booze has taken over the lease of the former Volcanic Brewing bar in Duggan Street, which in the coming weeks will be transformed into the latest venue for his Carolina-inspired chain of restaurants.

Mr Lane said American-style smokehouses had become increasingly popular.

“When you talk about fine dining, you are really only aiming at the top five per cent of society,” he said.

“Few people can go to a fine dining restaurant every day and drop $200 on a lunch, but because of the nature of barbecue, with its family-friendly approach and the fact that we make it as affordable as possible, it becomes an everyday restaurant.”

The centrepiece of the restaurant will be a huge smoker, lovingly named Dolly.

“She is massive – the biggest one I have had yet,” Mr Lane said.

Built by Ipswich fabricators Boss Hog Smokers, it features a huge seven square metres of cooking space.

Proof BBQ & Booze owner Ryan Lane has taken over the lease of restaurant in Duggan Street that was previously occupied by Volcanic Brewing. Picture: Nev Madsen.

While it will fill Duggan Street with the savory perfume of barbecue, Mr Lane said it should be smokeless.

“If you do everything right, get your temperatures and fuel right, then it does not make smoke,” he said.

The restaurant will pair its wide selection of brisket, rib pulled pork and classic of low-and-slow barbecue with local craft beers and American-style wines.

In a nod to the site’s former occupants, Mr Lane will host a selection of Volcanic Brewing beers.

It has been a long road to come from the business’s first restaurant in Brisbane to the Toowoomba location.

Mr Lane said he fell in love with the city after he visited on the insistence of some loyal customers.

“FKG has an office right near our Windsor store, and every Friday afternoon the boys would come in for beers and they said it would go gangbusters up the mountain,” he said.

Mr Lane and his wife started searching for a lease in early 2020, and after a few failed starts they locked in the Duggan Street premises.

“I am a Townsville boy, so I prefer country towns over big cities,” he said.

“Brisbane is exploding at the moment and is getting too busy for me.”

A site in Toowoomba also places the business close to farmers from whom Mr Lane can source produce directly which he said was key to a good smoke-up.

“We don’t do Texas-style smoking,” he said.

“The Carolina style is more about the meat than the smoke.” Proof BBQ and Booze is set to open in mid-August.