By Lindsay Peyton

Things are heating up in White Center – with a new barbecue joint coming to town.

Restaurateur Nate Rezac is heading south with his Drunky Two Shoes BBQ concept.

The restaurant has become a Frelard favorite, and Rezac is hoping his second location will make a splash in White Center.

Customers crowd into the original spot, where the kitchen serves up piles of smoked chicken, beef brisket and pork ribs – along with cold beer, a full bar and live music on the stage.

The second location in White Center will offer all the same trimmings – but on an even larger scale.

Rezac is busy transforming the former DK’s Café spot, 9655 16th Ave SW, into a rustic, playful homage to the roadside barbecue joints he frequented during his childhood in Texas.

Crews are adding reclaimed barn wood inside and out, making colorful light fixtures from old rusty bean cans and building exterior tables out of dissected pick-up truck beds.

Inside, there will be chainsaw chandeliers, red velvet walls in the “Elvis booth” and another seating area dedicated to Jesus, complete with a giant cross.

“We’re 100 percent about having a sense of humor,” Rezac said. “We just like to have fun.

”Outside, an airstream trailer will become a full bar, parked to the side of the restaurant in a large landscaped seating area.

There will be room for a stage – and plenty of space to host pony rides for the kids.

“This is a family dining spot,” he said. “But the bar is also going to be a hang-out. You definitely aren’t going to feel like you’re in Seattle anymore. You’ll be transported to the south. It’s comfortable, cozy and fun.

”Rezac’s first job was in a barbecue restaurant at age 15. “I started out washing dishes and worked all the way up,” he said.

He continued to work in catering during college, while studying communications at Seattle University. He stopped attending classes just short of graduation, when he realized he was already pursuing his true passion.

“I wanted to stick with the restaurant stuff,” Rezac said. “When I decided to drop out of college, it was 100 percent with the idea of owning a bar.

”Triangle Spirits, 3507 Fremont Pl N, was his first venture. He purchased the bar about eight years ago – but soon missed the presence of the smoker while he was at work.

“Barbecue is my passion, and I wanted to do something I was passionate about,” he said. “One thing I hadn’t seen in Seattle was a barbecue restaurant with the right spirit behind it.

”He opened Drunky Two Shoes BBQ in April 2015. The concept was simple – everything homemade and all the meats slow-cooked, smoked up to 16 hours at a time. Chickens are brined for three days before they start cooking to keep the meat juicy and chefs use custom dry rubs to season the beef.

“We keep it all super basic,” Rezac said. “Every single thing we have is slow-smoked –that’s our method.

”Word about the food spread quickly through Ballard, Fremont and beyond. Diners poured in and the kitchen sold out of meat.

“It was insane,” Rezac said. “At the beginning, we were struggling to keep up. But it was also an awesome problem to have. We just had to figure it out.

”When a space became available in White Center, Rezac jumped at the opportunity. “I’m excited about what’s happening down here,” he said. “There’s the Noble Barton, Bokabok and the Company Store, which just reopened. A growler place is coming and another restaurant. There are six new places opening on this block this year.

”Rezac is glad to be a part of this mini-mecca for foodies in the southwest side of town –and his fans are equally pleased to hear the news.

West Seattle resident Billy Joe Huels, front man for the popular rockabilly group The Dusty 45s, is looking forward to performing at the new Drunky Two Shoes BBQ in White Center.

Huels plans to make the stage a regular venue for his “Wednesday Night Club”–a weekly showcase of rock and swing that pops up around town at various spots.

“I’ve been trying to focus on southwest Seattle,” he said. “There are people who want to come out and dance and have a good time, but there just aren’t very many places out here for them to go. I want to help build a music scene out here.”

Huels wants to bring his Wednesday Night Club to restaurants and bars with a casual, neighborhood feeling – and believes Drunky Two Shoes will fit the bill.

“When Nate told me he was opening a venue in White Center, I was stoked,” Huels said. “I think the place is going to be awesome.

”The restaurant is slated to open in February. For more information about the restaurant and catering business, visit http://twoshoebbq.com.