In the News: Popular South Sound barbecue restaurant is moving to a brand-new location
Posted:
August 18, 2026
The News Tribune
By Kristine Sherred
After 31 years of smoking meats in Sumner, Brank’s BBQ & Catering will soon move into a brand-new building all their own.
The family-owned and -operated restaurant, now managed by the second generation, has been serving brisket, tri-tip, ribs, pulled pork, hot links and smoked chicken from a humble storefront in an industrial park since 2005, but Charlie and Lori Brank started the business in downtown Sumner way back in 1995. Starting in early September, Brank’s will slow down operations in anticipation of a grand debut just across the street at 2451 136th Ave. Ct. E.
Through Sept. 5, the restaurant — now at 13701 24th St. E. — will serve its full menu with normal service during standard hours: Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Things change after that date.
After 31 years of smoking meats in Sumner, Brank’s BBQ & Catering will soon move into a brand-new building all their own.
The family-owned and -operated restaurant, now managed by the second generation, has been serving brisket, tri-tip, ribs, pulled pork, hot links and smoked chicken from a humble storefront in an industrial park since 2005, but Charlie and Lori Brank started the business in downtown Sumner way back in 1995. Starting in early September, Brank’s will slow down operations in anticipation of a grand debut just across the street at 2451 136th Ave. Ct. E.
Through Sept. 5, the restaurant — now at 13701 24th St. E. — will serve its full menu with normal service during standard hours: Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Things change after that date.
“We’re excited,” Jessica told TNT Diner in August.
The project has been in the works since 2018, she said. They bought the property for around $1 million that June, and just a few months later, Charlie passed away at age 78 after a battle with cancer. They “kicked around ideas for a long time,” continued Jessica, and about three years ago began formulating sincere plans.
“It was definitely my dad’s vision, years and years ago — he was definitely a dreamer,” she said during a brief tour of the new digs, still very much under construction. Crews were smoothing fresh drywall in the dining room and kitchen, which is about three times larger than the restaurant’s current kitchen.
Styled in the spirit of a Texas roadhouse of sorts, the 6,000-square-foot structure on 1.75 acres features vaulted ceilings and lots of windows near the top. A roll-up garage door will lead from the dining room to a patio. The aesthetic will lean into “more rustic BBQ” vibes, said Jessica, as the building itself “looks like a barn.” Expect corrugated metal and exposed wooden beams in the 30-foot ceilings, a lively dining room, a sizable service area and a dedicated waiting area, which will double as a merch center for Brank’s BBQ T’s and bottled sauces.
The future barbecue pit at 2451 136th Ave. Ct. E. is twice the size of Brank’s current setup. Liesbeth Powers lpowers@thenewstribune.com
Mountain Construction, a Lakewood-based contractor, anticipates handing over the keys by the end of September, said Jessica. The two weeks of takeout-only will allow the family and staff to move the existing restaurant to the new restaurant in pieces, she explained, starting with tables and chairs once they stop dine-in service. Some workers will keep busy at the Washington State Fair, Sept. 4-27, where Brank’s BBQ has been a vendor since 2016 — they even store one of their smokers at the fairgrounds full-time, they said, and also use one of two mobile smokers there.
About three years ago, Brank’s added a food truck, which has been routinely booked so far this year but especially through the summer, said Jessica.
They didn’t plan the timing that way, but they are grateful for the coincidence.
The new restaurant will boast an outdoor smoker area that’s twice the size of the current setup, where they have two hunks burning cherry wood six days a week. Brank’s uses Ole Hickory Pits, a manufacturer based right between the two barbecue havens of St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee. They will move the smokers to the new location.
MaKenzie Brank checks the temperature on a batch of briskets at the outdoor smokers of Brank's BBQ on Aug. 13. These two smokers will move to the new location in September. Liesbeth Powers lpowers@thenewstribune.com
A big move for Brank’s BBQ
Charlie Brank was born in South Carolina and in the 1970s ended up in Washington after a “colorful” early adulthood, according to his obituary. He eventually landed a job at Arima Marine, a boat manufacturer now based in Bremerton, working his way up to plant superintendent. He and Lori married in 1983, and as they embarked on raising their three children, he developed “a real interest in Southern-style barbecue,” his obit continues. For a while he creatively fashioned smokers out of used 80-gallon steel drums and old refrigerators, as the Brank’s BBQ story explains on the website. Then he enrolled in a barbecue class with a beloved Kansas City-based pitmaster and author, the late Paul Kirk.
The family moved to Sumner in the early 1990s. With Lori’s support — and her recipe for Brank’s Cowboy Beans — Charlie sought a storefront, which he eventually found on Main Street, across from Fred Meyer. The supermarket still stands, but their original home does not. In August, the siblings laughed recalling how it was in pretty rough shape even when Brank’s BBQ first opened just after Thanksgiving in 1995.
A decade later, the restaurant moved to the industrial park, more than doubling its capacity and then expanding into an adjacent unit.
Brank’s BBQ opened in downtown Sumner in 1995, then moved to the industrial park in 2005. Liesbeth Powers lpowers@thenewstribune.com
The new restaurant will be a touch smaller than its total current square footage, but it will have an entire parking lot to itself and importantly a larger pit and kitchen.
One thing that won’t exist at Brank’s 3.0 is a banquet room, said Jessica, and they will still skip the bar, but the menu will be very much the same.
Meat plates start around $18 for chicken and $21-$26 for ribs, brisket, tri-tip and pork — served with your choice of two sides and cornbread. In addition to those beans, sides include mac and cheese, a loaded baked potato and potato salad, coleslaw, green salad, onion rings and hand-cut fries.
Family combos are a fine way to fill up, starting at $70 for a hefty “three-person” portion up to $240 for a serious 10-person feast with all the good stuff.
Brank’s BBQ hopes to welcome guests to the new restaurant in early October, but Jessica encouraged fans to stay tuned on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Charlie Brank envisioned the new restaurant before his death in 2018. The 6,000-square-foot space features vaulted ceilings in the dining room and a much larger kitchen, while the smokers will be outside under a standalone structure. Liesbeth Powers lpowers@thenewstribune.com
Brank’s BBQ
Current Location: 13701 24th St. E., Sumner, 253-891-1789, branksbbq.com
New Location: 2451 136th Ave. Ct. E., Sumner
Details: current Brank’s restaurant switching to takeout-only Sept. 9-19, then closing as of Sept. 20; anticipated reopening in new location — October 2026
