I think that's great symbolism. Stay up-to-date with local business news and networking events from Smart Business. We never started this thing with the grandiose vision that we would have multiple locations. In 1999, City Barbeque co-founder, president and CEO Rick Malir left his day job to pursue his dream of owning and operating a barbeque restaurant. There was a moment before we opened that I was brining chickens at 3 in the morning in my garage. We work to pay the most we can. They thought I was crazy (but) I just really believed in it, and my wife supported me. It was just brutal, Malir says. [7][9][10] A number of delays pushed back the opening of that first location, so Malir started fulfilling catering orders out of his home to sustain the business while waiting for the restaurant to be ready. But were not going to do it if we cant maintain high standards across the board. My friends in my college fraternity (at Kansas State University) introduced me to real barbecue back in the early 1980s. Is Sustainability the Future of the Restaurant Supply Chain? I absolutely love our French fries and our chicken. Mexico City-based Grupo Hunan plans expansion in U.S. Slutty Vegan promotes Jason Crain to president, Why KFC chose to add nuggets to the menu after 70 years, 2 surveys find McDonalds franchisees restive, On the Border proves its never too late to modernize your brand, The Wealthy Franchisee: How a little grit can make a lot of difference, Tech Tracker: High-tech restaurant prototypes, How Hopdoddy Burger Bar is using efficiencies, acquisitions to grow, Allowed HTML tags:

. I learned a big lesson after we were in business for a year. "How do you like this table?" Malir left John Deere and teamed up with restaurant industry veteran Frank Pizzo [7] and Kean, Budros, and Taylor to found City Barbeque. He embodies our values and is a terrific fit to lead us going forward.. Barbeque restaurants in Memphis, Kansas City, Texas and the Carolinas all adhere to different standards and recipes. It's still our family. Dont simply assume all guests will fall into that 5 percent just because youve had a few bad apples. We dont want an environment where you have to ask permission for a lot of things, Malir says. Over time, the store found the need to expand and target niche industries. Right now, we're testing a full-cut brisket with no trim and everything on it that I love. Theyre customers, Malir says. [11][12] Sides include fresh-cut fries, green beans with bacon, mac & cheese, sweet vinegar slaw, corn pudding, hush puppies, cornbread, collards with pork,[13] potato salad, side salads, and baked beans with brisket. Central Ohio has been great for us. I just think it's a good way to run a business. There was a high variability in performance from one restaurant to another, although he saw incremental improvements every day. Technologies, Inc. has been an industry leader for Drive-. But there were unforeseen delays in opening the original City Barbeque location on Henderson Road in Arlington. Frank (Pizzo) came in just a little bit later. We want our teams on guard rails to where they can swerve a little bit, he says. They're still involved as investors. The $100 bill rule means that every employee has a metaphorical $100 bill that they can use to go above and beyond while serving a guest, without having to talk to a manager.. 835 SHARON DRIVE, SUITE 200, CLEVELAND, OH 44145 |P: 800.988.4726 |PRIVACY POLICY. I grew up in the heartland on a small family farm and then went to Kansas State University and majored in agriculture. To maintain the companys artisan approach, it brought in a full culinary director and is pushing a true pitmaster program that includes training with the companys pit bosses to achieve that level of expertise in a relatively short timeframe. Theyre looking to be pleased. Registered in England and Wales. [30], City Barbeques culture is centered on food quality, service, continuous improvement, and fulfillment of the companys purpose: "serving and creating happiness". Instead, he gives each location parameters within which they can work. I remember every two weeks, on Monday, I would look at our checking account and this went on for probably 10 years and breathe if we had cash in there to make payroll.

The next state you would think of would have been, Well, lets go to Pennsylvania, or lets go somewhere thats closer, Malir says. But instead, the experience began to inform a better approach to growth, one predicated on people or, more specifically, the right people at the right time. This country has people from different places living everywhere, so regionality gets diminished. 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Ebels General Store has weathered nearly 100 years, through the Great Depression, two world wars, and other difficult times. The third restaurant, launched some two years later in Reynoldsburg, was still a struggle. But that goal isnt achieved through rigid adherence to a set of rules. I remember my first slab of ribs off their Weber smoker. So we went into this with the idea that we would be relentlessly obsessed with focusing on our guests and taking care of them. Now she works part-time for City Barbeque, doing a lot of community outreach and charity work. I want to triple our size. And that can make sourcing a challenge. Read more, Case studies and insights from some of Columbus's top business leaders, successful commercial transformations and Huntington's community outreach. City Barbeque, it seemed, was ready for something bigger. It was a move that led to losing so much money that it almost sunk the company. We haven't gone out and brought in a big pool of new investors. We're still running this. Having said that, the ribs probably remind you a bit of Kansas City, but our brisket is more of a Texas style, and the pork is a little more North Carolina. If you were a North Carolina company going to Texas, youd fail. Marketing was next, but that was a little more difficult to let go because he had a marketing background and thought he was pretty good at it. I just still worry about sales, he says. For Rick Malir and the other co-founders of City Barbeque, the answer was to take a little bit of everything and create a different barbeque experience. She's my biggest 'balancer.' She supported me the first several years because I couldn't pay myself. He first delegated accounting to someone with that expertise. It may accelerate a bit but only if we can do what we need to do in our current restaurants. I learned a lot of lessons from that We had to figure out how to run our business first before we could (expand). Weve had the same values since day 1. I had always been very entrepreneurial-minded and wanted to start my own company. Its a great product, and its what were known for. After meeting John Kean, Jim Budros and Mike Taylor, who comprised the award-winning competition BBQ team the Barbeque Boys,[6] Malir decided to start his company: a barbeque restaurant. [22] In 2018, City Barbeque was named to QSRs 40/40 list;[23] in 2017, it held the #48 spot on Restaurant Businesss Future 50. [5], City Barbeque serves beef brisket, pulled pork, turkey breast, pulled chicken with Bama sauce, smoked sausage, bone-in chicken, and St. Louiscut ribs; all meats are smoked in on-site smokers at each location. Weve been with them ever since.. The company was highly successful in North Carolina, he says. Thats Rick Malir, co-founder and CEO of City Barbeque, reflecting on the opening of his second restaurant shortly after the successful launch of his first. 2022 Huntington Bancshares Incorporated. We also have scholarship programs for our (workers) who are in college and for children of employees. City Barbeque founder Rick Malir grew up on a farm in rural Kansas and, as a teenager, served as National FFA president from 1985 to 1986. And many of the bumps that tripped up the business previously had begun to smooth out. What are some of your interests outside of the business? That's clear as Malir affectionately taps one of the original wood tables in City Barbeque's flagship restaurant off Henderson Road in Upper Arlington. I really think weve got some legs. But I'm not altruistic about it. We have a great brand. Its really relaxing to go on a motorcycle trip. But were not going to do it if we cant maintain high standards across the board. READ MORE: Tremendous growth awaits City Barbeque. With the nations barbeque landscape full of fierce regional devotees, how do you enter the fray if youre a small band of entrepreneurs from Central Ohio? If you dont have a bank that you can count on, it can really hinder you. We offered health benefits pretty much from the day we opened And from day one we wanted to be part of the community. The deal gave him a way to derisk while retaining a significant say, and a means to ramp up the companys growth rate by adding knowledge and capital. City Barbeque is a fast-casual barbeque chain founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1999 by current CEO Rick Malir. Our recipe evolved from some of the original founders who worked in barbeque, says Malir, City Barbeques president and CEO. I was fascinated by restaurants and loved serving people. The old thought process was that barbecue was so regional. We didnt have horses because dad said you didnt have to feed a motorcycle during the winter, so we used motorcycles to round up cattle. His management style, then, was to do everything accounting, HR, operations, marketing, IT, training, development, etc. Haveyou ever had doubts about your decision to do this? It was a scary several months to get us back on our feet. We give away roughly 10 percent of our profits to charity.