CITY BARBEQUE’s PURPOSE: To serve and create happiness CITY BARBEQUE’S MISSION: To set the standards others follow

Hey, City BBQ!

Well, we are well on our way into 2022.  It is hard to believe how fast each year goes, isn’t it?  Spring is springing, trees are blooming, dogs are barking, and sales are growing at City Barbeque.  I hope you are ready for what we know will be your best year ever!

As we jump into the BBQ season, all of us will feel the rush of an exploding business.  We will serve more guests, hire and train more people, crunch bigger numbers, stretch technology further, and market our brand greater than we do at any other time of the year.  Wow!  I am feeling it already and know you probably are, too.

Here are some words of counsel and encouragement, that I hope will help you make this season your best one yet:

·        Mind your energy - Know your personal values and what creates a happy You.  Then, embrace and protect it.  Believe that you can do anything you set your mind to and don’t be afraid to ask for help to get there.  We all go a lot further together.

·        Make your relationships count - When life gets busy and you-know-what hits the fan, our relationships are what get hurt the most.  In the end, BBQ is a chapter in life, but your relationships make the whole book.  Lean on each other and love those you do life with, at work and home.  Treat others with integrity, fairness, and respect.  It starts with our closest relationships.  Make time each day to learn about your teammates personally and connect with your loved ones at home.  They are who you are in this for in the first place.

·        Start and end your day with wellness - Fuel up for a full day and stay hydrated drinking 8 bottles of water per day.  And, quit staying up so late.  Those Netflix series are great to binge watch, but be sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep.  You will feel so much healthier just doing these few simple things.

·        Take a moment for you - Nothing clears my head more than taking a nice walk at night before bed.  Find what brings you peace and slows you down during your day.  You spend a lot of hours each week serving and creating happiness for others.  Be sure you do the same for yourself.

Life can tend to be a bit of a whirlwind, especially in our business, but it doesn’t always have to be.  It always starts and ends with us.  We make a choice each day. 

At our 2022 Leadership Conference, we focused on how we can be Built to Last personally, to help our business prosper professionally.  Are you building yourself to last?  In 2022, make time to be strong mentally, emotionally, relationally, and physically.  I promise it will be your best year ever.  See you soon!

~ Ronnie Berry, Chief People Officer

Four Pillars

TEAM

Congratulations to all of our internal promotions!  We have a lot of celebrating to do. In addition to new managers, we have three new Market Leaders: Jessica Pyles (Raleigh), Juan Lopez (Indianapolis), and Jeff Weegmann (Michigan). To replace Jeff as a Regional Training Manager, the training team was happy to promote Rebecca Burleson (former GM of Toledo). We love seeing you all grow with us! We also want to wish good luck to two teammates who have been with us for a long time, who are moving on to pursue their life’s dreams. Kim Baker from the Support Center will be building her floral empire in Southern Ohio, and Ryan Metzger from Powell is heading west to Utah to study Nursing. Best wishes to all of you in your career pursuits, near and far!

Guest

Our new joint openings are under way! This year proves to be one of major growth and prosperity, as we expand our footprint to various new locations. With determination and perseverance, there is nothing we cannot overcome. Facing challenges with strength and confidence is what matters, and our hard work will pay off! Soon our guests will have more site options for enjoying a great day to eat barbeque.

Process

The new Learning Management System is under way! We have a few kinks to iron out with the login process on various devices, but for the most part, we are happy to see the integration with ADP. Brainier helps eliminate the manual tasks of creating accounts and assigning initial orientation trainings - that’s a thing of the past now! So, “let’s get Brainier,” and enjoy what the new system has to offer. Lots of new courses, and lots of opportunities to host friendly competitions within or between joints on points or badges.

Financial

For Quarter 1, we are performing right in line with our budgets, despite all the economic headwinds with inflation and gas prices.   We are feeling some effects, but our continued efforts to Serve and Create Happiness continue to pay off.   Thanks for all that you are doing in the Joints and in Catering, to keep us staying ahead of the competition!

RDO REFLECTIONS

As we run into BBQ season with momentum in both hourly and salary staffing, we need to remember that it’s all about retention. It starts in the interview when the relationship starts. Then the orientation needs to be world class and the standard set for that hourly and salary team member. After that, we need to deliver on our culture, values, and behaviors.  Remember what Frank said, “It’s always been all about the people.” The new folks need to understand what is coming and what it is like to work for us. We pay great, at industry leading levels, but we know that it’s not always easy to work for us. We have high expectations and high levels of accountability. It is up to us as leaders to give our new folks clear direction on those expectations and make sure they are protected with great training and time to learn. We can’t expect them to be great right out of the gate. Our new people are so valuable, the same as our current team. All of this can’t just come from ML’s and GM’s. It is important that all levels deliver on this process and our values. When we do this, we all have unequaled outcomes.

Thanks for all you do!

~ Justin Lance, Regional Director of Operations

CATERING CHATTER

Barbeque Season Readiness

Catering is continuing to build relationships and create more raving fans!

Sales are ramping up across the company.  Catering is focused on staffing and training to be ready to execute all of our Catering events.  We are focused on full-service equipment inventories, as we have some very large days on the books already.  On the joint, side please start looking at your paper and food inventories.  Buffets are coming back, and we are heading into graduation and wedding season in full force in about 2-3 weeks.  Don’t forget to have plenty of boxes on hand as well. The branded City Barbeque boxes will be available at Reinhart over the next week or two.  

We are looking to break more records this year. We will do just that and we will all work together to make it happen.

~ Jeremiah Ruxer, Regional Catering Director

RAVING FANS

AVON

I placed a take out order online Saturday Jan 22. When I went to pick they had no record of my order. The young man at take out went to get his manager, I believe her name was Andy. She got my order made right away, when I asked to pay she told me it was on the house. Her concern was my credit card might be charged twice if the online order did go through another location. When I got home I realized that I made an error when placing the order. It was 100% my fault. Very appreciative of how she handled the issue, her concern was me being charged twice. Just wanted to let you know she is an asset to your company. I have always been a loyal customer, this just reinforces what a great place your Avon location is. Job well done.

Cary

While eating my (delicious!) lunch on Sunday, I watched Josh wipe down every surrounding table, put back a high chair and wipe it down, and swap out all the trash cans. I told the front staff that I have not seen a single restaurant put that kind of effort into their dining room since Covid precautions eased up. They asked me to let y’all know and I am happy to do so! Job well done, Josh and CityBBQ!

CENTERVILLE

So thankful for this restaurant and the cheerful employees that work here! I placed a mobile order for a kids meal for my son when we were on the go. I showed up sooner than my scheduled pick-up window, and the team immediately jumped into action to make sure that I could get my food and by on my way! I did not have to ask for this special treatment or quick turnaround, they just did it with a smile on their face and because they cared.

DURHAM

Gentlemen, It was pouring rain today and I was soaked to the bone. This was my first time at City BBQ and Jenn greeted me with a smile and asked "How can I help you". Immediately, I felt relaxed. She made suggestions as she explained the menu. The service was excellent as my order was completed as I had requested. Jenn is a valuable asset to your company. It was a very pleasant experience and I would highly recommend City BBQ to my friends and coworkers. Sincerely, Josh Teran

Fishers

Antoine was helping us tonight, before we even ordered he greeted us and asked how we were doing. Super nice guy! We really appreciated him being so kind. Our food was hot and ready quickly.

Highland Heights

I frequent this location almost weekly everyone is super friendly but I always am blown away by one employee in particular. Kyle always finds a way to have me speechless, I’ve had him take my order, make my order and bring my order all out by himself, today while here I noticed Kyle running outside and helping a older gentlemen inside before he was even out of his car, I asked him how he knew he needed help and he told me he’s a regular and has his car memorized. That’s just service that cannot be beaten. Love this location and employees it brings with it!! Amazing job.

Miller Lane

I want to commend Chris Stegnar, the manager of 10058 on Miller Lane in Dayton, Ohio for opening his City on a snowy, sleeting, cold day. The easy path would be to just take off and stay home, and many other restaurants and people did just that today. But Mr. Stegnar and his team, particularly Bryan, understand the value of hard work and dedication to the craft of great BBQ. It is nice to be able to "Respect the Smoke" on a cold winter's day. Cheers! Mark Arendt

Toledo - Northwest Ohio

I wanted to let you know what a delight Lisa is ! I have been in food service industry for over 30 years and in this day and age to have an employee like her working for you - you are very lucky! She is very friendly and personable to anyone I watched her speak to ! I just wanted to take a minute out of my day as employees with her attitude are hard to find ! She is a KEEPER !

Westerville

Dejuan is the star in this place! Always friendly, always helpful, always on it! Trina is doing a great job, also! Keep up the good work! Food quality remains excellent. Delivery is lightning fast! Andrew runs a First Class operation.

Whitestown

For Hayley Very up beat and enthusiastic. She knows my name every time I come in to eat. That makes a person feel right at home. The only sad thing is Feb. 28 2022 was her last day to work there. 😥

ALETHA’S CORNER

LEAN IN TO SELF-CARE

So many people don’t spend quality time taking care of themselves, because they are busy taking care of everything and everyone else. I am a believer in the airplane safety announcement when they instruct you to put your mask on first before you help anyone else when needed.  It’s good for more than just air safety, it is so true for life and self-care as well. You can’t give the best version of yourself until you spend time making sure you are the best version.

If you’re someone who has always said you don’t have time for self-care, or that self-care seems selfish and self-indulgent, you’re not alone. People often say, “I can’t invest in things that I would like to for myself, because it’s taking away from my ability to be a good parent or do what I need to do at work.”   Wouldn’t it be great if you could earn to lean in to your interdependence, and actually take some kind of joy in knowing that when you take care of yourself, you often are also taking care of others?  Think about that for a minute.  That’s pretty big.

 When you take care of yourself, are you taking care of others?  Absolutely, because you are at your best - rested, refreshed, able to think bigger, give more, and do more. The people around you get to benefit from this awesome you, this “you” who is recharged and ready to engage. When you don’t take care of yourself, you get burned out, agitated, and disengaged. These aren’t things that any of us want, but they do happen when we don’t put ourselves first at some point.

 The Lean - Leaning Into What Makes You Your Best Self

 First, understand how your Best Self looks. I don’t mean best-dressed, I mean what are the qualities that make you confident to feel your best, like you can accomplish anything that is put in front of you?  After figuring out what your Best Self looks like, then determine what is needed to accomplish feeling this way.  These things will be different for everyone, and that is OK.  Actually,  it’s better, because there is only one you, so there can be only one way to help build your most confident authentic Self.  

Self-care is a journey.  It isn’t a one-afternoon attempt, but it’s a routine of things designed just for you and your well-being. Take some time over the next few weeks and do nothing but simply think: What does the best version of you look like? Then write down how you will support getting there, or keeping yourself there, if you are there already.

Take care of yourself, so you can better take care of others.

~ Aletha