Featured Client – Profiled on October 22, 2009
Windsor barbeque joint celebrates one year in business
It might seem crazy to open a restaurant with a hundred seats right in the midst of a recession, but Ryan and Tina Odette did just that. So far, not only has it proven a good idea, but customers are quickly becoming disciples of the smoked specialties.
I spoke to chef and co-owner Ryan Odette about how this year has gone, and what his plan is for the future.
Award-winning barbeque
Smoke & Spice may only be a year old, but already it has a loyal following from the Windsor-Detroit area.
Without brow-beating customers, they’ve already compiled a list of nearly 2,500 people who make up their “V.I.P. Birthday Club”. They’ve received awards from regional competitions, and accolades from local news sources already too! Here are just a few of the nice things that have happened to them since September of 2008:
- Best Barbeque - Metro Times Detroit
- Best “Naked” Wing – 1st Annual Chicken Wing Cook-Off (2009)
- Best “Dressed” Wing – 1st Annual Chicken Wing Cook-Off (2009)
- People’s Choice – 1st Annual Chicken Wing Cook-Off (2009)
- Best New Restaurant - WAMM Magazine
When asked what their secret is, Ryan Odette is quick to point out that customer feedback has been key to their success:
We’re really pleased that this type of food has gotten such a great reception in our hometown. While it’s not all that exotic, it is unique. Many of our customers have never had this style of barbeque, but they’re really responding well to what we’re doing.
In terms of our direction over the last year, we’ve leaned on our customers a little. People will tell you what they want if you just ask them. Having a place for people to give us their feedback on the back of our VIP Birthday Club sign-up forms has been one of the best things we could have done.
We’ve definitely stayed true to our brand, but when our customers speak, we listen.
Listening to their customers has been important to the Odettes from the first day of business, although they temper that feedback with a strong commitment to their brand. You’re not likely to ever find a stir fry or steak on the menu, and even if comment cards scream for those things, they would probably open another different kind of joint before being untrue to this one.
We never intended to be all things to all people. We just wanted to do what we do, better than anybody else. That’s the mission every day.
Systems and recipes are worked on all the time, and we try to ensure that every menu presents good value. All that, coupled with the great efforts of our kitchen and service staff every shift, makes us a great choice for locals who unfortunately have less money to spend eating out than they did before. When the economy picks up, we intend to keep giving great value to families. That’s part of what we’re all about.
Given how well everything is going, one might expect that some growth is on the horizon. Could it be that Smoke & Spice locations are going to start popping up all over the place?
We’re going to keep learning, keep working, and continue to perfect what we’re doing. We’d like to keep finding ways to squeeze efficiency out of our systems, without compromising the integrity and value of the end product. Of course we’d love to explode this thing, but first we want to try to make it as perfect as we can as often as we can.
We’ll keep involving our customers too. I plan on starting a video blog in the coming months to discuss the style of barbeque that we do, and I’ll never stop reading through every single comment card that we get.
The food, value, and service at this “Mom and Pop” joint really is fantastic. Refreshing, actually, in a day and age where “customer service” usually ends up more like “lip service”, and value translates to how little a place can get away with giving it’s customers for maximum prices.
At Smoke & Spice, as Ryan’s wife Tina puts it so often, you really can “feel the love”.
