When he first started Drinking Pig BBQ in the front yard of his northeast Miami home in 2020, chef Raheem Sealey wanted to provide a place to gather.
The pandemic was stretching on, and Miami needed a neighborhood hangout at a time when there was nowhere to go and nothing to do, thirsting for community with a side of barbecued meat. Enter Sealey, already known for his time as head chef at Wynwood’s Kyu. Diners flocked to his house to put in an order, pick out a picnic table, sip beer from a cooler and wait for the smoked perfection to grace their plates.
Sealey, who started the venture with his wife Yohanir Sandoval and partner Mark Wint and has gone on to open the upscale Shiso Asian smokehouse in Wynwood, remembers these days fondly.
“It was a real hangout,” he recalls. “I think people liked the neighborhood feel. I think they liked to see that the family was there and running around, kids everywhere. It just felt very, very Miami.”…