Smith Family Shares Vision for Smoke on the Water

“I slept on it,” said Diane Smith who, along with her son Dustin Smith, recently took over Smoke on the Water at Riverlights. “I asked James to tell me by the morning what I should do. And the answer was follow your heart. And my heart said it needs to be back in the family.”

James Smith was the 48-year-old son Diane Smith lost back in 2023 due to a tragic accident. He was the same James Smith who was for years a staple in Wilmington’s culinary scene, owner of two Fork n Cork locations, Bone & Bean BBQ and — the source of Diane Smith’s midnight consternation — Smoke on the Water, which had gone out of the family upon his death.

Then came a change of fortune, according to Diane Smith. Allan Middleton, James Smith’s one-time business partner who had assumed full ownership of Smoke on the Water after his death, approached her about taking over the restaurant entirely — the whole enchilada. After sleeping on it, Diane Smith knew in her heart she had to bring the nearly 3,200-square-foot river house restaurant back into the family.

“It was the only thing to do, the right thing to do, to honor James’s legacy,” Diane Smith said.

That was roughly 30 days ago.

“What I want to see the restaurant do is grow to be more of a community resource,” said Diane Smith, noting that since its 2016 opening, the restaurant has regularly hosted weddings and various other events.

“That’s not to take anything away from the restaurant because that’s its main function,” she said. “But I want to explore other functions that would be beneficial to this side of town and the Riverlights community.”

In the kitchen, barbecue will be a strong contender, Diane Smith said, as it was during James Smith’s tenure, a tradition he perfected in his home state of Texas.

“We’re still going to honor some of the original Smoke on the Water dishes by bringing them back, like the shrimp tacos,” she added, “but we’re also going to have an eclectic mix of things. We want to move forward with some creativity.”

Diane Smith said new and old talent in the kitchen has created excitement.

“We’re having a fun time right now … loosening the reins on what they can create and cook,” she said.

Out back on the restaurant’s spacious wooden deck, a boisterous crowd communes with nature — and a glass of merlot, chardonnay or, perhaps, something stronger. Winter coats and UGGs will soon give way to Bermuda shorts and sandals. Mosquitoes will nip at ankles.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time sitting in the restaurant talking to people,” said Diane Smith, “and asking them, ‘What do you want to see us do? What do you want to see us bring back on the menu?’”

As for Diane Smith, she’s decided to take Mondays, a day Smoke on the Water has traditionally been closed.

“Mondays are gonna be mine,” she said. “And for those Mondays, I’m gonna be offering a variety of different things that are kind of family, community, maternity oriented. Luncheons for moms, you know, those things that bring a community together.”

It’s that togetherness that she and Dustin Smith are counting on for this next phase of Smoke on the Water.