A young entrepreneur is hoping fans of the former Green Lantern restaurant will flock back to the venue as he launches a new takeout business there this week.

And Kemar Maybury, 33, is offering an incentive to get people to try out his “barbecue drive-through” concept: free samples of food this Friday lunchtime between 11am and 1pm.

The Green Lantern, on Serpentine Road in Pembroke, closed in February 2012 after 70 years in business, when it was described by The Royal Gazette as an “iconic” institution.

Mr Maybury has been renting the building from its new owners for the past year, using it as the kitchen headquarters for his Smokin’ Barrel food truck, which is usually parked on Front Street.

This week sees the “soft launch” of his new business concept: a buffet-style barbecue drive-through in the restaurant’s large parking lot, courtesy of a large rotisserie smoker.

“The Green Lantern has the capability to prepare volumes of food. I have a buffet down there and we might do like Kentucky, where you can get a rib box or a fish box or a sweet jerk chicken box,” Mr Maybury said.

He said the idea was to have fresh food readily available when customers arrive to pick up lunch, so they don’t have to order and wait.

“We want to do volume and we want people to be able to get in in five minutes and get out in five minutes. You pick your meat, you pick your side, you pick your combo. We’ll put it together in a combo and we’ll see you later!”

He hopes fans of both the Green Lantern and the Smokin’ Barrel will head to Serpentine Road to try out the menu in the next few weeks, before he holds an official launch.

“We might nickname it the ‘Red Lantern’,” he said. “I think that would be very catchy.”

Mr Maybury reassured customers that the Smokin’ Barrel — aka the “Red Kitchen” — will be back on Front Street near the Bird Cage within the next three to four weeks, after having repair work done. “People will be able to expect to get food from both locations,” he said.

The father-of-one has had to downsize his business since his wife and partner Latifa died in November. As revealed by this newspaper last month, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few days after giving birth to their first child and passed away six months later.

Mr Maybury said his focus now was on raising the couple’s one-year-old son Khaleel and getting his business on track.

On Friday, he will offer free samples of food between 11am and 1pm for anyone who drops in. “Anyone who hasn’t tried Smokin’ Barrel before can have a taste of what we are doing here and anyone who knows Smokin’ Barrel can come too.”

Mr Maybury launched his first food business at Mills Reach and also has plans for a Smokin’ Barrel tropical cafe on Reid Street.

The buffet at the Green Lantern location is available from 11am until 11pm Monday to Thursday; 11am to 3am on Friday and Saturday; and 1pm to 10pm on Sunday. The number is 703-2800.