Ben and Phyllis Howlett, of Jensen’s Home Smoked Meats fame, will bring their meet processing and cooking experience to Port Orchard this month, to a new restaurant called Fat Rascal’s BarBQue. The restaurant will be located on Highway 160, at Ross Point — the site of numerous eateries over the years, but perhaps best known for the one lasting the longest, The Clambake. Most recently it housed Maria Taco Shop and later the Fiesta Mexican Restaurant.

Using all fresh ingredients, custom-built smokers brought all the way from Texas, and their expertise, the couple promises to create a barbecue diner like no other in Kitsap.

In May, their Bremerton business closed its doors due to State Route 304 (the Bremerton Gateway project) renovations. Although they have known about having to move for two years, they didn’t realize that was the end of Jensen’s meats era. The shop, which they bought four years ago, used a natural wood smoker, built into the ground, for its famous meats. EPA and other regulations would not allow for another one like it, Ben said, and he “refused to put forth an inferior product” — which using an electric or gas smoker would have meant.

“It was kind of heart breaking because the business has been there for such a long time,” he said. Whatever the secret was in those meats, their fame traveled around the world, and that’s without the wonders of modern advertising called the Internet. Jensen’s had no Website, yet it was Antarctica’s favorite place to buy smoked meats, Howlett said. And not just Antarctica’s. It was enjoyed on seven continents, and closer to home at places like President Bush’s inaugural ball, he said.

Jensen’s Home Smoked Meats was the couple’s first business. Ben says he was getting too old to work for someone else, so they plunged into the world of food processing when the business came for sale. While many customers will reminiscence for their favorite shop, they’ll no doubt find some of the same tasty fare at Fat Rascal’s.

Ben, who once ran a barbecue restaurant (among many other things), said cooking stuck with him.

“People were always smitten with my way to cook barbecue and smoke fish,” he said.

Owning a restaurant has been a longtime dream for the Howletts, and just like Jensen’s was a natural fit before, so is their new adventure. The family-friendly restaurant will offer barbecue beef, pork, chicken, ribs, barbecue by the pound “to go,” and more.

“Don’t be afraid to bring the kids or grandma,” Phyllis said.

For those trying to figure out who is Fat Rascal, here is the story that solves the mystery. The Howletts were enjoying themselves at their Belfair home recently, tossing around possible business names. “We have these raccoons that come and visit,” Phyllis said. “I said, ‘Honey, look at that fat rascal,’ and he said, ‘That’s the name of our restaurant!’”.