If nothing else, the new Bowling Green restaurant set to open in the former home of the Brickyard Cafe will offer some menu items that are new to the area.

San Juan Smokehouse, which opens to the public Tuesday at 1026 Chestnut St., is described by its owners as a “fusion” of Southern-style barbecue and Caribbean cuisine.

Set for a soft opening for family and friends Friday and Saturday, San Juan Smokehouse is the creation of James Marlin and Vanessa Lopez, a husband-and-wife team who met in Puerto Rico.

The restaurant will offer such Caribbean dishes as pastelon, a lasagna-like concoction using fried plantains instead of noodles, and mofongo, made from mashed plantains that are filled with pulled pork, shrimp or chicken.

Many dishes will incorporate both the Southern-style barbecue and the Caribbean offerings into some eclectic recipes.

“It has worked in our marriage, so why not for a restaurant?” Marlin said of the culinary combinations.

Marlin, 37, is a Portland, Tenn., native who has been in the restaurant business since he was 16. He met Lopez, a native of Puerto Rico, while he was working as a sous chef in a San Juan hotel where she was the front desk manager.

Marlin said the couple looked into opening a restaurant near his hometown before settling on Bowling Green.

“We looked at Gallatin, Hendersonville and Nashville,” he said. “But the price was insane, so we thought of going to Bowling Green instead.”

Lopez and Marlin are leasing the building from Jake Simic, who owned the Bowling Green Brickyard Cafe and continues to own Franklin’s Brickyard Cafe and the La Gala event venue on State Street. They will be using only the original building, not the patio portion that Simic added on.

Lopez, 38, said the restaurant will have a seating capacity of 80 that includes a bar where Caribbean drinks such as Don Q rum will be sold. San Juan Smokehouse will offer a variety of desserts, including guava mousse, piña colada cake and smoked pecan pie.

“We’ll be introducing new foods and new concepts,” Lopez said. “Some of the Caribbean things we’ll introduce as daily specials. The menu will evolve depending on what ingredients we can get our hands on. It will be up to the people to let us know what items they want.”

Marlin, who built a custom smoker behind the restaurant for his barbecue and other dishes, said entree prices at San Juan Smokehouse will range from $10 for the simplest fare to $50 for such items as smoked prime rib.

Lopez and Marlin, who were married last year, said the former Brickyard Cafe building is an ideal location for their restaurant. They plan to be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.

“We wanted to start with a small location and develop that,” Lopez said. “Eventually we may open for Sunday brunch.”

The opening of San Juan Smokehouse signals the end of Bowling Green’s Brickyard Cafe, a fixture in the city since its opening in 1998 until Simic announced last year that the location would be open only for special events and small groups.

“After 19 years, I’ve decided to slow down a little bit,” said Simic, 56. “Between here and in Croatia and Bosnia, I have been in the restaurant business for 32 years.”

Simic still offers catering out of La Gala, and he said the Franklin Brickyard offers food similar to what was on the Bowling Green Brickyard menu.

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.