![An interior shot of Heavy Seas Alehouse from 2012, the year it opened in Little Italy. The Alehouse closed this past weekend, and will be replaced with Blue Dog BBQ Co. this summer. An interior shot of Heavy Seas Alehouse from 2012, the year it opened in Little Italy. The Alehouse closed this past weekend, and will be replaced with Blue Dog BBQ Co. this summer.](https://www.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2018/06/04/Q3XI6P6WTFCODI366XFJ3CPAG4.jpg?w=535)
Blue Dog BBQ Co. will open in Little Italy next month.
Formed in 2017 with an emphasis on on-site catering, Blue Dog BBQ Co.’s first brick-and-mortar location will open in mid- to late July at 1300 Bank St., which most recently housed the Heavy Seas Alehouse, according to a news release. The Alehouse closed after a six-year run on Saturday, the release stated.
For the barbecue restaurant, Blue Dog BBQ founders Jon Royce and Sean Stoll are teaming up with restaurateur Mike Neall, who co-owns The Point Crab House and Grill in Arnold, according to the release.
Blue Dog is known for its whole-hog barbecue, in which an entire pig is cooked slowly for hours, and for using only wood in its smoking process (as opposed to gas-assisted smokers), the release stated.
Halethorpe’s Heavy Seas Beer is not involved in the Blue Dog project, said a brewery spokeswoman. The brewery was never involved in the restaurant’s operations, and only licensed its name for the Alehouse (which was owned by HSAH LLC, an ownership group separate from the brewery), the spokeswoman said. The Heavy Seas Alehouse in Arlington, Va., will remain open.
Blue Dog plans to open for lunch and dinner services six days per week, according to the release.