Wayne's Smoke Shack Will Reopen in Superior on January 6, a Year After the Marshall Fire

December 30, 2021, was a frightening day for many as the Marshall Fire swept through Boulder County. Wayne and Sam Shelnutt, the husband-and-wife owners of Wayne's Smoke Shack, at 406 Center Drive in Superior, were among the more than 1,000 families who lost their homes; they lost a car, too. And while the building that held the business they had been running for nine years still stood, it suffered severe smoke damage.

"It was, in the beginning, and still is, a roller coaster of emotions," says Sam, who was seven months pregnant at the time. "With the anniversary, a lot of those emotions and the trauma of what we went through are coming up. But we're really happy to have the reopening to look forward to."

Wayne's Smoke Shack is finally ready to start serving ’cue once again on Friday, January 6, just over a year after the fire. "We are so excited to see everyone and to give back to the community, because they've given so much to us," Sam adds.

For the Shelnutts, the days and weeks following the fire "feel like such a blur," Sam recalls. "Everything — all of our systems and routines — were completely broken." Priority number one for the couple was finding housing. After initially being taken in by Jonathan Odde and his sister Tracy Scalia, owners of the Hilltop Inn, the Shelnutts were able to move into a rental in Arvada in late January.
Then their attention turned to "trying to get the house in livable condition," Sam says. While they'd had a nursery stocked and ready for their new arrival before the fire, they found themselves starting from scratch. But the many community fundraisers, as well as donations from individuals, helped get them back on their feet.

"I had so many amazing mothers reach out and donate everything we could possibly need," Sam remembers. "We ended up with three times what we initially had. Everything from a handmade changing table that someone donated to a crib, clothes, toys. It was so amazing. I've never felt so much generosity and love."

At the same time, Wayne was spending hours every day trying to sort through their renters', car and business insurance claims. "That was a lot in the first few months," Sam adds.

In late March, two weeks after Sam's due date, the Shelnutts welcomed daughter River Rose. That experience came with some unexpected twists, too. "It was a stressful birth," admits Sam, adding that it included an unplanned trip to Centura Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, where, on the day River was born, another fire broke out in Boulder County. Sam recalls being able to see the smoke and the nurses warning her that an evacuation was possible. Thankfully, that did not end up being necessary. "I had a wonderful experience at Avista. All the nurses were just wonderful, and we had a beautiful, healthy baby. With her, it's been such a blessing to put our energy into this little light," Sam says.

While the Shelnutts were trying to restock their home, nearly everything had to be thrown out at the restaurant. "It took a while to replace all the equipment," Sam explains, especially with so many items on back order because of supply-chain issues. Everything from the smokers to the butcher-block tables to spatulas had to be replaced.
But despite the challenges, the experience also gave the Shelnutts the opportunity to refocus a bit. Over the past year, they've begun to work on another dream: building a farm on a 35-acre piece of land that they purchased between Loveland and Estes Park. "It's in the very early stages," Sam says, "but our goal is to bring the Smoke Shack full circle and do farm-to-table as much as we can."

In order to balance their time between the restaurant and the farm, Wayne's Smoke Shack will now be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (or until it sells out) Fridays and Saturdays only. But it's also coming back with some new menu items. "With our time away, we've been able to reinvigorate our passion for the Smoke Shack," Sam notes. "Wayne is so creative. Let's bring the people what we're passionate about."

Prior to the pandemic, Wayne was planning to open another business, Wayne's Taco Shack. Now he's going to incorporate some of those recipes at the Smoke Shack, adding options like salsas and queso along with new sides and desserts like banana pudding and sticky toffee pudding, plus a beef butter "that will literally change people's lives," Sam says.

The new Wayne's will also include a market with plenty of grab-and-go options, including frozen barbecue that Sam hopes customers will stock up on to enjoy throughout the week when the spot is closed.

The new limited hours "will allow us to make sure the quality and new items are where we want them to be, and to focus on the farm, as well," Sam concludes. "We feel we're setting ourselves up to never lose that passion."