McCray's barbecue about to open downtown Lake Worth Beach restaurant

Jun 18
2 min read

Updated: Jun 20

Video interview with pitmaster Derrick McCray

A POPULAR BARBECUE dynasty is about to set up shop in downtown Lake Worth Beach.

McCray’s Bar & Grill will launch a soft opening June 26 at 604 Lake Ave. in the former Cantina Americana space, pitmaster Derrick McCray said.

He’s also planning a Fourth of July event and a formal grand opening around Labor Day featuring a menu of barbecue, seafood and vegan food.

“We’ll start doing something next Thursday, just having bar food and drinks. We’ll start off with pulled pork beef brisket and wings,’’ he said Wednesday as workers prepared the space.

“We are starting out slow. We want to build up the momentum for when we do our grand opening for Labor Day and football season,’’ he said.

McCray, who recently operated McCray’s Backyard BBQ in West Palm Beach, said his family has been serving food in the Palm Beach County area for 92 years.

“We feel we are part of the fabric of Palm Beach County. I’m excited about coming to Lake worth,’’ he said

The Lake Worth Beach location is ideal, he said, because it will serve customers from both sides of the Lake Worth Bridge.

“Plus, there’s no barbecue places in the (immediate) area, and with us cooking for 19 Super Bowls and five presidents and doing what we do, I think we'll be able to draw the right type of clientele here. Those barbecue connoisseurs can come right here,’’ he said.

McCray’s Bar & Grill will be open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

There will be multiple TV screens to watch sports, live music and comedy on some nights and maybe even karaoke, he said.

“We’ll have high quality food,’’ he said. “We are looking for a new great experience here.’’

(This story was updated at 4:35 p.m June 19 to reflect an adjusted soft-opening date.)

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About the author

Joe Capozzi is an award-winning reporter based in Lake Worth Beach. He spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, mostly at The Palm Beach Post, where he wrote about the opioid scourge, invasive pythons, the birth of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and Palm Beach County government. For 15 years, he covered the Miami Marlins baseball team. Joe left The Post in December 2020. View all posts by Joe Capozzi.