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One of the most anticipated openings in Hastings is that of a restaurant known as The Smokin Oak Express. Cottage Grove residents have access to plenty of wonderful local restaurants in town and just to the north, yet, you should add Smokin Oak to your “must try” list. Thankfully, with the Smokin Oak Express location opening in Hastings, you won’t have to drive far. Smokin Oak Express is the first expansion of the original Smokin Oak in Red Wing.

Both locations are owned by Kyle and Jolene Knutson. The Red Wing location has been operating for 11 years and is an area favorite because of their unique style of rotisserie grilling. Their rotisserie is fueled by wood, not natural gas, and they slow cook prime cuts of meat. Hand-cut steaks, ribs and chicken are all roasted over oak and cherry wood flames giving the meat a distinct and delicious flavor.

In early October, Knutson made the announcement of their expansion into Hastings on the Hasting, MN community page and it quickly garnered over 100 comments and 300 shares. All comments were glowing with excitement over the announcement that the old Frandsen Bank, which, for us older folks in Hastings used to be the Hardee’s, is going to be, once again, a restaurant. In her announcement, the initial plan was to be opened by the end of the year.

Knutson grew up in Welch, so her family frequented both Hastings and Red Wing.

“We were looking to expand into more of like an express type of business only because we think that more people are looking to take something home,” she said regarding the style of restaurant they are building in Hastings.

The model they are creating is a fast casual setup. High quality food and service with a faster production time than a sit-down restaurant. They had driven by the location several times and one day it hit them, this is a perfect setup for the fast casual plan they had been kicking around, which included the need for a drive through. They got in touch with Pat Regan, the owner of the building, “and then everything just felt right. So that’s where we are right now,” Knutson explained.

They started the remodel in May, in a pandemic, quite a bold move. Did they decide on the express model because of the lockdowns? No, but the express model is certainly suited to work well with the current restrictions. “We’ve had the idea and had been wanting to do that even before March right before the beginning of the very first shutdown,” Knutson said. The express model will also include some dine-in space, including a meeting/party room for when restaurants can open inside again. The planned normal capacity is around 60 diners. Instead of full table service like the Red Wing location, this will be a counter order, seat yourself type environment, again, built around quick, excellent service with the highest quality foods. The food menu will be similar to the sit-down restaurant in Red Wing with the exception of a few things.

They also hope to take advantage of the triple drive through left from the bank, something that is also new to the restaurant industry in the area. Along with the drive through, they will also have phone-in orders and are working on an app for mobile phones.

When do they plan on opening? Knutson says her husband was hoping for the end of December, “but then I’m very much a realist where I think okay, I think it’s going to be more, you know, January,” she chuckled.

Then she went on to explain that sometimes there are just delays in construction that you cannot plan for, especially in a pandemic. Look back to when Menards could not get the supplies for homeowners to build a shed for three months. Stuff happens. She’s not upset by it at all, she’s still extremely excited and thankful for the opportunity to open her second location. “I don’t want to rush anything, I want everything to be ready to go,” she said confidently.

As they are winding down on the major work in Hastings, it is getting down to the small stuff, and the inspections.

Weather has a huge role in travel in MN, add to it the pandemic. If the inspectors get hit with COVID quarantines, or if there are some nasty snowstorms, there could be delays that are beyond everyone’s control. Hopefully for the Knutsons, they are not impacted by either, but one thing is for sure, ready to greet anyone that comes through their doors or drive thru with a smile. They are excited and thankful to be part of the Hastings community and the community is excited to have them and we cannot wait to get a taste of The Smokin’ Oak Express Menu.