TIME FOR FAMILY, BARBEQUE, and new menu rollout!

EXECUTIVE MESSAGE

Hello Team City BBQ,

I hope you’re having a great summer and have been able to spend some quality time with friends and family. I’m always amazed at how fast BBQ season goes by—next thing you know, we find our communities going back to school and getting ready for some tailgating… two more opportunities for the city’s best barbeque!

Over the last few months, we’ve talked a great deal about how “sales are a controllable.” From delivering competition-quality food with backyard hospitality within the four walls and at every catering event, to being front and center in our communities, building relationships and sharing our craft, the idea that “sales are a controllable” has become a cultural cornerstone for this team.

It’s important to never lose sight of the opportunity we have to grow our revenue each day, each shift, and with each guest. Did you know 80% of the guests who walk into our joints each day either have never been in or haven’t been in within the last year? Think about that: 80% of the guests walking in each day represent an opportunity to create a new relationship, to WOW them, and to provide a compelling reason for them to come back in again and again.

Please engage your entire team to treat every guest walking in as if it’s that person’s first visit—after all, there’s an 80% chance it is! Challenge them: Does every team member (from cashier to boards person to QA) engage the guest? Do our cashiers guide guests through the menu?  And most importantly, do you sample, sample, sample for guests in the queue, the dining room, the drive thru? If you WOW each guest by truly engaging them in their City BBQ experience, you will see them back sooner rather than later. That’s how we make BBQ an everyday thing!

Our team and brand are as strong as they have ever been, and with the quality of our people, the quality of our craft, our level of operational excellence, and the work being done by our support team, we have never been better. Our future is so bright, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of something so special. For that, I thank all of you. 

My friends, we sell BBQ! Have fun with it—and let’s have some fun with our guests!

I appreciate all you do,

Mike

OPENING SHOTS

Four Pillars

TEAM

Rib Bone Contest Winners!

We looked at sales in two ways to identify three winners each. Overall percent and total number of rib bones sold. A Big Congratulations to each of you and your teams for selling the most ribs!

Top three joints with Highest Rib Sales as Percentage of Gross Sales for the Week: Beachwood (14.73%), Decatur Crossing (13.11%), and Snellville (12.43%)

Top three joints with Most Number of Rib Bones Sold: Reynoldsburg (5,225 or abouit 435 racks), Decatur Crossing (5,028 or about 419 racks), Miller Lane (4,757 or about 396 racks)

All winners were supplied pizza for their lunch and dinner teams! If your joint wasn’t selected this round, don't worry! Look out for more chances throughout the year!

~ Jillian Armstong, HR Director – Teammate Experience

Guest

After months of planning, tasting, and testing, our revamped menu is ready to roll! We’re excited to share these updated favorites and new soon-to-be favorites with our guests—and most importantly, we know these enhancements will lift the menu as a whole. Marketing has plans to heavily promote the menu changes starting August 5, so don’t be surprised when folks come in asking about new items right away. 

And of course, thank you so much to the teams at “The Big 10,” the 10 joints who’ve been piloting the new menu for months now. This wouldn’t have been possible without you!

~ Annica Conrad, Chief Brand Officer

Process

We are a little more than halfway through 2024 and as a company we have improved our processes immensely!  A few of the things we have put in place so far this year:

1. BI tool

2. CDP tool (customer data platform)

3. 2024 beer program

4. MenuCalc (nutritional/ingredient tool)

5. CrunchTime daily prep

6. Group ordering

7. New plating and combos

8. Fraud deterrent tools

9. 5 New Joint Openings

We plan to finish the year strong starting with our New Menu Roll Out in August and two more New Joint Openings in September.  Then, our next project is a big one as we are working on a new Point of Sale system.  This venture has already begun, and we are in the planning/development phase.  The entire process will not be complete until sometime in 2025, but it will be worth it!

~ Dave Skerl, Director of Strategic Implementation

Financial

The finance and accounting teams have been keeping busy this barbeque season! In addition to preparing for our annual 2025 budgets, we are getting ready for our interim audits and working to transition tasks as part of our recent team reorganization. Our FP&A team is also collaborating closely with IT to implement our BI system, paving the way for improved efficiency. Here's to a successful Q3!

~ Lena Hendryx, Manager of Finance

CATERING RAVING FANS!

cHICAGO CATERING

Good Morning City BBQ Team. Just wanted to follow up with a Big Thank YOU to the team with Downers Grove. Sharnice Edmond & Damian Benitez were EXCEPTIONAL with their help during our customer appreciation event we help on June 12th. I apologize it's a bit late but never want to forget those who make a BIG impact on a successful event. City BBQ Rocks!!!! 

COLUMBUSCATERING

Ordering was easy and Randy was great to work with. Anna L. was wonderful and very friendly to all of my team. The food allergy/gluten free items were marked, and instructions were followed for the tomato allergy. The set up looked great, and the food quality was great!

TOLEDO CATERING

I would like to highly recommend City BBQ not only for their delicious food but for they're fantastic catering team. Holly and her team we're able to accommodate a delivery date mistake the night before our event. They went above and beyond to provide everything we needed-No questions asked! Be sure to consider them for your next meal or event.  

AKRON/CLEVELAND CATERING

Abbey’s responsive and attention to detail. The taste testing was out of this world amazing. True Southern hospitality. The catering staff were amazing. They served the wedding party and bussed tables at the end.

ATLANTACATERING

Telena Johnson | Sales Manager- Greater Atlanta Area Always makes the experience great. She is very professional from beginning to end! The meals are always great. We at Children's Healthcare CIRU love City BBQ!

Cincinnati/NORTHERN KY CATERING

Emily and LaBron were professional, helpful, courteous and fun to work with. They set up and served to dinner to our guests and made suggestions on how to mix the sauce to create the perfect heat. The food was delicious!

CATERING SALES SUPPORT

Tanner's expertise in your products proved invaluable to us in selecting an ideal menu for our event. He carefully evaluated our guests' preferences and dietary restrictions, and recommended an array of delectable dishes customized to cater to their individual needs. His attention to detail and passion for great bbq shone through in every aspect of the planning process, making our event an unforgettable culinary experience.

DAYTON CATERING

First: the food was delicious, it all stayed the correct temperature for serving Second the efficacy of the buffet line was perfect and the staff were completely on top of everything. They had clean up down to an art and the packing of left overs and the extra meal for us newlyweds for later was an amazing touch. We bashed that leftover meal as soon as we got home. Kim our representative was amazing she kept me calm when I had I started to panic over some small details and was so kind through the entire process! We will 100% reccommend to anyone looking to cater an event. And if we ever need to cater again we will be back!

DETROIT CATERING

Hollie was a pleasure to work with. The experience was smooth and uneventful. She was also very prompt in responding to my questions.

FINDLAY/oh CATERING

Ashley was absolutely amazing , professional,kind ,quick with her responses and very helpful every step of the way! The food was delivered and setup beautifully the day of our event! Mary was kind and professional and did a great job setting up the food and giving great ideas on how to organize everything! The food was absolutely delicious!

GRAND RAPIDS/ mi CATERING

Kerrin was so wonderful to work with. She was helpful and personable and a joy to speak with.

CATERING SALES SUPPORT/ In CATERING

From the very beginning of obtaining a quote, asking lots of questions, and though the final setup, I felt very appreciated and never pressured or annoyed with my questions, Angela and Temple did a great job giving me options and patiently answering questions. They did not rush me in making a decision or try to upsell me. Rather, they did a great job in selling the catering to me with providing excellent service and food! The setup team did a very nice job as well

LOUISVILLE CATERING

The fast and organized set up! Bryant arrived early and took care of setting up everything before the group arrived! He was super nice and made sure the set up was authentically pleasing! The group is loving the spread:)

MADISON CATERING

It was all delicious! Everyone absolutely loved the food! Megan and Devin were so helpful with the setup for the event and were so great to work with! Would definitely order again in the future!

RALEIGH CATERING

Jesika was AMAZING to work with. She made the process seamless. She answered my questions promptly and was so helpful! She helped make the party a huge success.

RDo reflections

Setting the standards others follow: Avoid the “I’m within the Average” mindset.

Avoid being trapped in a mindset of mediocrity. Refrain from fixating on average thinking, which can obscure reality and lead to incomplete decisions and misguided actions. Instead, strive for elite performance in data analysis, delving beyond average metrics to uncover the full story within the data. Understand the limitations of averages and adopt a comprehensive approach to enhance overall performance, maximizing the potential of teams and leadership.

Embrace a mindset of visionary leadership and elite performance management:

Continuous Learning: Stay open and curious, always seeking to understand the “why.”

Build Trust: Foster engagement and provide honest, timely feedback to cultivate a trusted team environment.

Focus on Impact: Develop successful models and recognize optimal performance to promote best practices.

Take Calculated Risks: Analyze data thoroughly to inform decisive actions and maximize results.

Lead with Empathy and Humility: Remain grounded, listen actively, and inspire through humility rather than ego.

Pay it Forward: Mentor others and create opportunities for growth.

Strive for elite results and avoid settling for average performance. Let’s maximize our efforts as we approach Q3, encouraging everyone to exceed average expectations and pave the way for outstanding performance, Let’s aim for a record-breaking Q3.

~ Tim Zombek, Regional Director of Operations

TEAMMATE SPOTLIGHT

amanda beebe | Staffing specialist, HR

jude deibel | Dublin Green, GM

RAVING FANS

Buford

Great food, great people, great customer service, great place. Big up to Jarius for taking care of my family. It was our first time visiting City Barbeque and Jarius was patient and accommodating to us. He made sure my order was sufficient for my family of four, and most importantly, he made sure we ordered what we would enjoy. Our meal was definitely filling and enjoyable. We will visit again!

Fairfield   

James was amazing. He gave great customer service and was very friendly. It was refreshing to see a smile at a drive thru, this is so rare these days. Kudos!!

garner

Was in today at the same Garner, NC location. This young lady's name is Jayne. You are very fortunate to have her on your staff. She's always upbeat and pleasant, engages the customer with simple courtesy that is lacking in society as a whole. When you walk in and get a smile, hello, and how are you, it makes you feel welcome. Putting all of that aside, Jayne is very efficient in getting the line moving or the food out. She just has the knack to make the whole experience pleasant. And believe me, efficiency is important in Garner, it can get pretty busy. If it were me, she'd  better serve your company in a leadership or training role. Thanks.

Johns Creek     

Always good food and good flavor. But today at my request, manager Shelby replaced my dinner that I dropped myself at home!

Rochester Road

I visited this spot for the first time. I went thru the drive thru and expressed it was my first time trying their food. Kelli gave me service with a smile, I didn’t wait very long for my food and she said she gave me samples of a few sides so I know what to order next time. I will be back!! Food is excellent and the service was exceptional.

miller lane 

We made a mistake, and placed a fairly large order for the wrong day. I found that out when I went to pick it up. No worries though: Lisa switched the order in the system, and had my order put together in under 10 minutes. The food was great as usual, and the staff, particularly Lisa, was remarkable. Even though I made the mistake, they took care of me. If you want great food, and a friendly atmosphere, this is the place to go!

Greensboro

Just stopped by for a quick lunch and ended up having the best service at a restaurant I’ve ever had. The entire staff was amazing. Audrey Hinson in particular was so loving towards our kids. I’ve never been to a restaurant that cared so much about our experience. I will 100% eat here again especially if Audrey is working. We will now be calling in to make sure she is there before we come in. 5 stars

grove city

Jacob took my order today and it was absolutely the best customer service I’ve ever had at that location! He was helping with the order before mine and paused to say he’d be right with me with eye contact! He wasn’t flashy or over the top, just matter of fact with a smile. Whether he meant it or not he made me feel like they were happy I was getting food there. I appreciate feeling valued. Thanks Jacob!

fairlawn

This place is awesome. The customer service was amazing. I was unsure of what some of the menu items were and Adam was patient with me and explained everything to me. Avery helped me change my order when i realized I made a mistake. Lastly, the food was amazing. Chefs kiss!

portage

It was our first time visiting here although we drive by every day. We went in and had Crystal greet us. She was SO kind. I understand that it is someone's job to be nice while working up front but I am serious, she was the most knowledgeable, kind, helpful, person I have ran into in years, maybe ever. If I owned a business I would want Crystal working for me. She told us about deals going on, the app, everything. I have not received service like this and it was incredible. The food was good, but what will keep us coming back is staff like Crystal. I hope she keeps it up. 

winston-salem

Our visit to your restaurant today,was an excellent choice.Brandon took our order,made some menu suggestions.We were new customers so we welcomed his suggestions.Which was wonderful choices for us.I am a retired school cafeteria manager.I notice employees when I go into restaurants.If I see an exceptional one I don’t hesitate to let the manager know.Brandon was very courteous to us,and above all is very much a professional.I see manager qualities in this fine young man.Please let him know what a wonderful job he is doing.

greenville

The brisket is well cooked! Literally melts in your mouth. The chipotle bbq was the right amount of sweet and spice. Mike who I think is the GM or the owner sure knows how to run a restaurant, he was extremely polite and very personable! Overall it was a really great experience!

beachwood

Evvie was super helpful when ordering at City BBQ today!!! So sweet and helpful, what a lovely young woman! The employees at City BBQ only make the dining experience that much more enjoyable! And, of course, the beef brisket is always amazing!!!

Lafayette

My husband and I just had dinner in your restaurant I just want you to know we had a wonderful experience. Brennan was our cashier and he was training a girl on her first night and he did a wonderful job. I came back after our meal to purchase a piece of cake. An older lady was speaking to both Brennan and the new hire about the expectations of her training tonight. When she ended the conversation the last thing she said to her was is there anything that you need from me before you head out. I just think it's great that she was so invested in the new employee. 

finneytown

We didn’t come in until 8:30pm I just now realized they close @ 9pm when I looked up the store to write the review. Not one staff member rushed us. Nicole was the manager and she was extremely pleasant to customers the cook was extremely nice to us he went over and beyond to make sure we enjoyed our food. The young gentle out front was extremely nice to us offered to get people more sauce if they needed it. I don’t think we have ate at a cleaner restaurant on this side of town. We will definitely be back!

Castleton

Dakoa was amazing, we were treated like royalty! Our first time in, and it definitely won’t be the last! Such a wonderful experience.

solon

Mercedes the cashier had excellent service was very nice and ensured my food came out good. Everything tasted amazing and I can’t wait to come back!

support center

I want to compliment Joe Smith in your customer service department. He is a Guest Recovery Specialist.While on vacation we saw 3 orders come through in Louisville, KY on my e-mail account. I quickly called City BBQ and was connected with Joe. He promptly called the store, stopped the orders, then worked with me to get a refund. He followed up with an e-mail confirmation. He went above and beyond.

QUEMMUNITY

aS kEVIN bENNETT STATED: Remember, a major key to our success in 2024 is the notion that sales are a controllable. 

We do that by being the Mayor in our Town.  We take every opportunity to get out in our community and show them what City BBQ is all about. 

I’ve seen some amazing pictures and heard some awesome stories so far this year. 

If you are not out in your community, ask for help

We have the answers!

SUMMER COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

BE A POSITIVE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY!

Have you participated in any community or charity event/drive, or volunteered for any cause, either as a team or individually, at work, home, church? Please send your information and any photos you can provide to hr@citybbq.com, with Quemmunity in the subject line. We’d love to publish them in a future newsletter under this feature! We want to “share the wealth in a sustainable fashion!”

Aletha’s INSIGHT

With so many great things going on right now; like a new menu being one of them, it’s important that we find ways to make the learning and insights we share stick. We need to ensure they are impactful and stay with our folks.

It’s true that people forget a lot of what they hear or even read, that’s why we need to grab people’s attention in as many exciting ways as possible. Here are some awesome tips to help keep your development “ Sticky” ability to stick with your team:

Tips For Creating Sticky Learning

1. Encourage Active Engagement

To truly learn something, you can’t expect to simply read a book, share information, or just watch a video. There must be more to it, and multiple ways of learning.  Think about how you can encourage learners to actively engage—for example, giving opportunities to practice and gain feedback. Seek feedback during pre-shift meetings.

2. Use What People Already Know

If you’re learning content, can you hook onto something that people already know, it helps the brain form those links. One way to help create links is to get people to guess the answer. This has been shown to increase their ability to recall the right answer, even if they guessed wrong. Think about where this can be applied, Brainier or a quick Q&A with the team.

3. Tap Into Emotions

Emotions help the brain make decisions. If you’re trying to help people make better decisions in certain situations, creating emotional ties can help. Food can create emotional ties as people think about their favorite food, or new menu item they liked the best, maybe it reminded them of something special. Draw the connection.

4. Make Deliberate Links

Use anchors to create links between 2 things. This can help to trigger memories or encourage people to act. You can do this with visual prompts, words, sounds etc.

5. Repeat

To make neural connections stronger and faster, they need to be used repeatedly—think of it like building brain muscle. So, build practice into learning experiences so those connections keep firing. Practice, Practice, and then Practice some more.

6. Keep It Fresh

We zone out of things we’re used to seeing. Think about what you can do to surprise people or be different, so it becomes memorable and worthy of talking about. Update communication boards and other forms of communication so they are fresh and don’t just blend into the background.

7. Use Storytelling

Great stories are remembered and retold. Telling a stories places ideas in a broader context, providing a richer understanding and creating a durable memory - we remember in context, and we forget isolated facts.

~ Aletha Dawson, Sr. Director of Training and Recruiting

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