Oxford is known for its restaurants, and for how many it has, but the Lamar Yard Smokehouse is aiming to offer something the city does not have.

The restaurant and entertainment venue is located at 2200 South Lamar Boulevard, nearly a mile and a half south of the Oxford Square. The Square already has a bar-b-que restaurant as well as several places where people can lounge outside as well as places to hear live music. Lamar Yard is looking to combine all three of those commodities into one location.

The central Texas bar-b-que themed restaurant will feature brisket and short ribs, on the south side of the property, a barn with indoor and outdoor access that includes a bar and a stage for live music and a yard covering a third of an acre sandwiched in between. The yard will have outdoor seating, picnic tables, a playground as well as outdoor activities such as cornhole and ping-pong.

The current climate of the world being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a venue such as Lamar Yard was not planned to be something that would be accommodating to today’s protocols and guidelines, but it has just worked out that way.

“We’ve been working on this idea well before COVID came along, but now that it’s here it really works well for this environment” Patrick Ellis said. “It’s going to have plenty of space for people to space out.”

Lamar Yard is a project that Ellis worked on with Nickle Smith and Tres Brasell. They are also owners of The Bluff in Memphis, a sports bar and live music establishment.

When COVID-19 hit Mississippi in March, the pandemic never slowed down the progress or plans the trio had when it came to Lamar Yard. The venue is scheduled to be open in March of 2021, which Smith said has always been their target date.

“It didn’t slow our process down at all,” Smith said. “The (Oxford) Planning Commission just went online. So, we were able to keep that progress and keep our planned opening date the same.”

The location, which use to be home to the Oxford Medical Building, is situated just north of the South Lamar Blvd and Belk Blvd roundabout and was the spot the group had in mind from the start.

Other areas were scouted, but they always came back to that location on South Lamar. The location in proximity to new residential housing as well as Highway 6 and parking were all key factors.

“This location also is easy for parents to bring their kids and their pets out here,” Smith said. “It’s easy to get to and we feel that we have plenty of parking.”

The restaurant will feature a smoker by the name of “Vidalia” that will feature live fire cooking over oak wood and be visible for people to watch as it prepares their orders.

The venue will also be available to be rented out for private events and weddings, according to Ellis.

For more information, visit lamaryard.com as well as their Facebook page.