(In First Look, we visit a new restaurant or bar in Central New York to give readers an idea of what to expect. If you know of a new place, email me at cmiller@syracuse.com or call/text me at 315-382-1984. If I take your suggestion, I just might buy you a meal.)

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LaFayette, N.Y. — A house-flipping couple, a former Yankees marketing guy and a Dinosaur Bar-B-Que pitmaster walk into a rundown roadhouse in LaFayette.

That’s not a joke setup; that’s the origin story of Brickyard Tavern and Barbecue, the two-building, smoke-scented project at 2611 U.S. Route 11 that is already on fire. Literally.

Paul and Rebecca Swimm, who have flipped more than 200 houses around Central New York, bought the property in September 2024 as a rental. They weren’t in any rush. Maybe they’d open a comf

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