Owner of Columbiana’s Smoke Worx settling into first brick-and-mortar restaurant
Columbiana native Jon-Lee Depillo is the owner of Smoke Worx Village Table 4.1, at 45417 OH-14 across from The Links at Firestone Farms.
“I started in my mom’s front yard, 4.1 miles from here, with what we called Smoke It Sunday,” Depillo said. “I’d set up a banner, post it on Facebook and got started with one little cooker. We outgrew that, got another home-built cooker, and then all of a sudden there were people lining up.”
In 2010, Smoke Worx started as a roadside pop-up that gained a loyal following.
A few years later, Depillo purchased a small concession trailer to take the smoke show on the road, collaborating with local businesses like Birdfish Brewing.
“When we bought the little trailer, Birdfish was getting ready to open and they wanted me to sell food when they opened,” Depillo said. “I was one of the first food trucks in this town. I was the only food vendor that Birdfish’s landlord at the time allowed there for the first two years they were open... It got to where I was selling so many pans of carry-out food and there wasn’t nearly enough refrigeration space for the amount of food I was selling.”
In 2017, Depillo upgraded and purchased Smoke Worx’s signature green food truck, which was around the same time Birdfish Brewing outgrew their old space.
“It’s always been Smoke Worx and Birdfish through the years,” Depillo said. “It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been a lot of fun. Most of these recipes I use here from back in my days in catering, and it’s become a routine.”
Depillo was approached in 2021 about turning Smoke Worx into a permanent brick-and-mortar restaurant.
He credits his wife, Courtney Depillo, with giving him the encouragement to launch Smoke Worx Village Table 4.1 which has been open since 2024 at 45417 OH-14, close to Harbel’s Gathering Barn and Ill Will Brewing.
“We use the food truck now mostly for catering. We still go to a few food truck events,” Depillo said. “We have this whole patio and grass area here, and we do smaller events for Harbel’s. We’re planning on getting through catering season first and foremost, and then lots of events across the street.”
The restaurant started out as a barn with a dirt floor before being transformed into Smoke Worx Village Table 4.1.
Depillo said he’s been focused on increasing the restaurant’s local visibility and finding ways to combat rising costs of food, particularly brisket.
“Instead of taking it off our menu, I’ve started to buy another cut of meat, and then I add it in,” Depillo said. “There was a brisket that weighed 24 pounds before it went in, before it got trimmed or into the smoker. After 12 and a half hours, when that’s done, it was nine pounds. So that’s why brisket costs what it does, since all the water comes out of it overnight. Now it’s a blend; it’s got brisket, and it’s got the roast beef in it.”
Depillo’s culinary arts journey began with a line cook job at Yellowstone National Park which led to Depillo attending culinary school in 2002.
