Kuumba Smith started brewing beer in 1998. That same year, his Short Order Porter — an imperial breakfast porter built on coffee, maple syrup, cacao nibs, and hazelnut — won the Riverside Shootout Homebrew Competition at Martin House Brewing in Fort Worth. That win was the signal. It took another 28 years, a failed search for a location in Collin County, a lease signed in January 2023, a zoning dispute that consumed more than a year before the permit team would even look at the application, and a soft opening on June 13, 2026 — but Smittox Brewing is open at 930 E. Clarendon Drive in east Oak Cliff, near the Dallas Zoo, and it is the first fully Black-owned brewery in the Dallas area.
Smith — known as Smitty, which is where the name comes from — spent the years between that first competition win and the brewery opening doing the work that serious home brewers do while they wait: collaborating with Vector Brewing and Oak Cliff Brewing on joint releases, building a following, winning a homebrew competition at Barrels on the Bayou in New Orleans, putting out a beer called Golden Rewind that found its way onto Goodfriend Beer Garden’s tap list in Casa Linda. The industry knew who he was long before the taproom doors opened. “If you’re into the craft beer scene,” one customer commented, “you already knew about them.”
The taproom runs a 7-barrel system built on hardware acquired from White Rock Brewing’s original Alehouse location, and pours from a 12-handle tap wall. The opening lineup covered the range that a brewery should cover when it’s first introducing itself: a Kölsch, an American pale ale, a stout, a hazy IPA, and Outta Order Porter — a foundational American porter that serves as the more accessible precursor to the Short Order Porter that started everything.
Smith has been deliberate about this: get the base beers locked down and correct before adding the more complex flavor additions. The Short Order Porter with the coffee and maple and cacao will come. The foundation comes first.
Smith’s vision for the room is clear and specific. “My vision is to have a comfortable, laid-back spot,” he said. “Smittox is heavily influenced by our love of music, with a focus on hip-hop. This will be reflected throughout the tap room.” The space runs just under 4,000 square feet with a bar, indoor seating, a patio, and a merchandise storefront. Parking adjacent to the brewery is limited — the East Dock shopping and entertainment destination across the street has additional parking. smittoxbrewing.com for hours and updates.
