At the new 5,000-square-foot Cowboy Seafood at Park Central, the Common Ground Culinary design team aims to capture both the rugged charm of a Southern smokehouse and the freshness of a coastal eatery (photo courtesy of Ideation Design Group).
The latest concept from Common Ground Culinary will bring barbecue and premium seafood together in a “hospitality-forward dining experience” at Park Central next year.
The team behind The Collins Small Batch Kitchen, Grassroots Kitchen & Tap, The Macintosh and The Neighborly, Common Ground Culinary announced in November that its newest concept, Cowboy Seafood, is coming to the Midtown Phoenix spot in 2026.
A first-of-its-kind restaurant pairing BBQ Belt-inspired, “competition-level” barbecue with an elevated seafood and raw bar program, the restaurant represents the next major evolution in founder Christopher Collins’s culinary journey, and the boldest expression yet of his signature hospitality philosophy, he said.
“Cowboy Seafood is the culmination of everything I’ve learned in my career,” Collins said. “It’s two programs that Common Ground already does exceptionally well, both seafood and barbecue, brought together and taken to their absolute peak. This is food I love to eat, cooked with intention and served in a space designed to feel alive.”
At the eatery, guests will experience barbecue smoked over a custom dual-spit Santa Maria grill and a state-of-the-art J&R Manufacturing smoker, the same Texas-built equipment used by some of the nation’s top pitmasters. Collins and his culinary team traveled to Mesquite, Texas to collaborate with J&R’s fourth-generation team, ensuring Cowboy Seafood’s smoke program is both authentic and technically precise. True to his competitive drive, Collins plans to take the program on the road.
“We’ll be entering competitions, attending festivals, and developing a mobile rig for catering and events,” he said.
The restaurant’s signature smoke flavor comes from a blend of oak, pecan and dried corn husk, a technique Collins describes as giving a “sharp, bright smoke at the start that fades into a long, clean burn.”
Balancing the barbecue is the Saltwater Saint Raw Bar, an evolving in-house concept within Common Ground Culinary’s portfolio. This full raw bar will feature oysters, shrimp, pokes and sushi rolls, alongside eight fresh cuts of fish, daily prepared grilled, pan-seared, broiled, or blackened.
The space is designed in collaboration with Ideation Design Group and developed with Plaza Company, to create a 5,000-square-foot space they hope captures both the rugged charm of a Southern smokehouse and the freshness of a coastal eatery. The interior blends raw wood textures with blue-and-white tile, glass and neon signage.
Among its distinctive design elements: an eight-foot taxidermied swordfish wearing a cowboy hat will be visible through the Central Avenue-facing window, an emblem of the restaurant’s playful duality. Inside, guests can gather at a 12-seat community table, a 22-seat island bar, or booth-lined dining areas that accommodate 80 guests indoors and another 80 on the patio.
Visit www.cowboyseafood.com for more information.
