Hello Team City BBQ,

I hope this message finds you and your families safe, healthy, and off to a great start of the new year. This year promises to be one filled with excitement, opportunity, and, of course, new challenges.

In 2022, we begin our journey as a high-growth company, working to scale City Barbeque and become a national brand. Becoming a high-growth company requires us to think, act, and execute differently than we have in the past. We must be more forward-thinking in terms of new market expansion, succession planning, and adapting our business model to accommodate changing consumer demand. We must work aggressively to ultimately become a leader in fast-casual dining.

The opportunities in front of this team are endless and I could not be more excited about what the future has in store. Those opportunities will come fast, and they will come often, so the biggest question today is: will you be ready when opportunity knocks? To successfully scale our brand, become a leader in the industry, and create endless opportunities for this team, we must all be aligned on three important factors.

First, we must continue our commitment to growing our business with an inside-out approach: putting our people and culture first, working every day to enhance and strengthen both. Protecting this foundation will allow us to expand our business in a sustainable manner. At City BBQ, we all share the responsibility of making each team member’s experience the best it can be. We must be intentional if we are to make our purpose of serving and creating happiness a reality for our guests and fellow team members. I ask all of you to consider and take action on what you can do to make City BBQ the absolute best place it can be.

Next, we must execute and deliver on our commitments to the business and team. This team has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to execute at a high level and take on any challenge that comes our way. I know 2022 will present no fewer challenges than the past couple of years, but I also know whatever challenge comes our way will simply make us stronger, faster, and better. We must all remain relentlessly reliable in delivering best-in-class results in everything that we do.

Last, but most important in my opinion, is that we must commit to establishing a work-life balance for ourselves and each other. Achieving personal satisfaction and professional success is not an either/or proposition. In fact, I would argue you cannot truly achieve one without the other. We all define work-life balance differently, and it’s important we don’t assume our definition is the same for others. Take the time to discuss what it means to those around you, share what it means to you, and discuss how you can work within your team to achieve it. Achieving work-life balance takes planning, focus, and, of course, work!

2022 will be an exciting year for Team City BBQ. Let’s work together to make it our best year yet. On behalf of the entire Leadership Team, we appreciate you, we thank you, and we are here for you.

Stay True,

Mike

Four Pillars

TEAM

Our New Joint Opening Training Team: What an amazing opportunity to bring together our Regional Training Managers, new Opening Coordinator, and 24 of our New Joint Opening Trainers! With support from several departments, we held a 2-day Train-the-Trainer Boot Camp in December, to prepare these teammates for the very big job in front of them: opening more joints in one year than ever before! We witnessed such energy from this team! What can we say, besides “truly inspirational!” These teammates are dedicated to the opening process, and will travel throughout 2022 to support our company as we embark on this super-great journey.

Thank You trainers, for what you have done and what you will do. Your work and time are very much appreciated!

Guest

Our Cary, NC joint received a highly favorable and complimentary letter of appreciation from a guest this month. The writer is a Vice President of a company, who admits he usually doesn’t go out of his way to praise a restaurant. He commented on the team’s professionalism, cleanliness, above average food quality and temperature, and friendliness. His company regularly uses Cary for catering as well. He called out the leadership, stating that “even high-end restaurants don’t provide the overall experience that I get at City BBQ store #24.” Great job, team! Keep up the awesome work!

Process

The new Pit Par Program now is under way! The Weekly Pit Par Recap Project has a few more tweaks being made to it, but this will simplify and automate many of the tasks being managed manually in the past. Stay tuned for further updates as they occur.

Financial

What a phenomenal end to 2021!  Below are some of the highlights that we need to take time celebrate our accomplishments:

•  Sales ended at an all time high of $157 million – favorable $19 million to the budget

• Comp sales ended at 27.6%

• Since 2020 was hit so hard from COVID, we also compare our sales to 2019. The 2 -year comp sales comparison is 12.8%

• Looking at what the joints accomplished, the were up 21.4% compared to last year and 16.0% compared to 2019

• Catering – what a comeback! Catering sales were $19.8 million and beat the budget by $4.8 million

• Looking at all operations, we were able to take $33 million to the bank

 Thank you for all the efforts it took us to produce these results.  A lot of hard work and perseverance from a tremendous group of people all pulling together to make things happen for the guests. 

 How nice it is to have the capital in hand to put towards the exciting growth adventure ahead of us in 2022.

RDO REFLECTIONS

BACKYARD HOSPITALITY

Often when we think about hospitality, we think about our guest interactions in the joint.  We are good at this, and it allows us to apply our Guiding Behaviors in a broad way to our guests.  Since Covid, our guest interactions have changed.  More of our business has become either curbside or delivery and now drive-through as we grow that piece of our business.  It is important to remember that our Guiding Behaviors such as “We are Paid by the Guest” and the “95/5 Rule” still apply to curbside guests, to-go guests, and even a guest on the phone that we may have fallen short of delivering our promise to.  Thanking a guest for their business works inside and outside the joint and even through a mask.  In respect to when a guest calls in, we are often busy when they want to tell us issues about their order.   Thanking them for the call as we try to solve their issue helps defuse a situation.  If we must put them on hold be polite and try to expedite the solution.  Remember that protecting our guest as best as we can from the challenges we are facing, be it Covid, call offs, late product delivery or even unexpected sales is something that separates us from our competitors.  Think of the last time you went out to eat or even order and pickup food with your family.  Did you hear excuses like the ones I mentioned?  How did it make you feel?  Our teams are world class and the true strength of City Barbeque.  When we leverage that fact, we are untouchable.   Take care of our guest the City Barbeque way, whatever order method they choose.  It makes all the difference in these challenging times. 

Thanks,

Greg Wittig

Pit Masters In Progress

How exciting to see the Pit Master Certification Program (Path to Pit Mastery) shape up and now take form! Through lots of hard work and a passion to see this through, we have our first group of Pit Master candidates. The path to Pit Master is a journey from Pit Apprentice, to Pit Boss, and then to Pit Master. We had 8 very talented managers join us in Columbus for the first of three amazing sessions of true food and execution knowledge. This first session was a great collaboration with Dr. Lyda Garcia from OSU. Dr. Garcia, the Professor of Meat Science, shared so much great information about the meat we smoke.

The group then spent a full day at OSU, learning and even making their own sausage from scratch! It was a great experience, with some spicy sausage to boot!

This group will continue working through activities that will build their overall understanding of what it truly means to be a Pit Master. The next trip for this group will be working with Chef Rich Rosendale. We can’t wait to see the continued passion from this group.

Many thanks to the Pit Masters - your eagerness to learn was infectious! A BIG thank you to Jeff Weegmann who is a great support and has been a big part of this becoming a reality. And last, but certainly not least, a VERY special thank you to Jason Strickland, who has kept this program moving forward. He has worked tirelessly to ensure we have the right tools to make the best Pit Masters possible!

CATERING CHATTER

A new year is here, and that means our guests have been busy getting engaged over the holidays and realizing now is the time to book some delicious City Barbeque Catering for the big day.    Our Wedding Event Specialists are currently busy with bridal shows and tastings with potential brides and grooms.

The goal? To build sales and break 2021’s sales records that were at an all time high in many markets. In 2021 we did 2,338 weddings, rehearsal dinners, and engagement parties for a total of $5,520,249. Currently for 2022, we have 714 events scheduled for $2,525,409, and it is only January.

To have some more consistency and better communication, the Wedding Event Specialists will be adding their Tastings in Monkey, so the joint managers will see them come though as Promo Orders. The managers will be able to know when the tasting is, and be prepared to help the Wedding Event Specialists with food samples when they are ready. 

During those tastings in your joint, please stop by and say congratulations to our future “Raving Fans.”

RAVING FANS

CARY, NC

My name is Doug Baratta.  This email is completely out of character for me since I rarely go out of my way to praise a restaurant however I feel compelled to send this message.  I have been going to City BBQ store #24 in Cary, NC for years now.  And over the years of dining here I have never seen a restaurant provide a CONSISTENT outstanding experience.  And when I say consistent I am referring to professionalism, cleanliness, above average food quality and temperature, friendliness, etc…. this place does it all!  And just to let you know I eat out about 6-7 times a week so I see it all.  I have even got the company I work for hooked on catering from this store.  The catering experience is as good as the experience received in store and we use City BBQ on a regular basis (Pre-Covid).  Even high end restaurants don’t provide the overall experience that I get at City BBQ store #24.  I frequent this restaurant enough that the staff even knows me by name.  So with all of this said I think that praise needs to go to the entire team, especially Al DiCaprio who manages the store.   I am a firm believer that leadership is the reason for success.  Al appears to be doing all of the right things.

eastgate, OH

I placed an order through the app and arrived much sooner than the quoted ready time. I had barely put my car in park and the employee was bringing my food out to me! The chicken tenders were hot and fresh and great portion size! Everything else in my order was correct including all of the sauces I asked for. Most of the time people only complain, so I wanted to share that I had a great experience at the Eastgate location! App improvements are much appreciated as well! Thanks for a great meal and great service!

Florence, KY

We frequent the restaurant here in Florence KY. From the time we walk in the door we feel at home atmosphere. The management is always very helpful, the cashiers are always full of personality and everyone behind the counter preparing the food or helping out in the dining room are always so helpful and courteous. They all work hard to make the restaurant hospitable, welcoming

Greenwood, IN

We visited the Indy location Saturday night about 40 mins before closing. We were the only people in there minus a gentleman that was leaving and a staff member came and helped him up and outside! We worried the staff would be upset because we came in so close to closing but it was the complete opposite! They were beyond friendly and treated us amazing! What the didn’t know is we came in late because our son (5 years old) had been in the hospital and had been home bound for a week after. We wanted to go out to eat but didn’t want to have him around a lot of germs so we decided a late dinner would be good. At the end of our dinner a young guy brought out a little cup of whipped cream for him as a special treat! It’s his favorite! They had no idea how fantastic and stress free they made our night! I believe it was 3 gentlemen and a lady! Just fantastic people and they definitely deserve a pat on the back! We appreciate them more than they know!! -Shotts Family

Highland Heights, KY

I come to this location about once every few weeks with my daughter, tonight I was missing some food and went to the front no one was up there but the guy in the kitchen quickly came up and made sure I was fine. Told him I was missing food and he told me he’d get it right away, when he came to the table my daughter was being fussy and he quickly got down to her level and made faces and talked to her for a few moments and changed her mood, I have never received this kind of service anywhere, I was so impressed I even got a picture of them to put this on my Facebook! Great employee!!!!! Love this location so much.

Miller Lane, OH

We recently visited your store. We were immediately greeted by a wonderful young man named Devon. He chatted with us and was very informative and helpful with the menu. We told him we were not from that area, we had just left the VA for some medical treatments for my husband. We went on to order a considerable amount of food. Knowing we would have some for the next day. When we were finished out of nowhere he refused our payment and bought our food! Wow, I was so shocked and humbled by the generous act of kindness. He then carried our food to the table. Returning later with desert. I can honestly say that this young man made such an absolutely amazing impression for us. You see my husband has had a very rough year with his health etc. We can't stop talking about this experience. People like Devon make this world such a better place!!! Thank you so much from a humble and appreciative military wife.

University Place, NC

I wanted to give a hearty warm amazing shout out to the University Team!! I placed an order through the mobile app on 01/01/2022. It showed an option to press, "I'm Here" when I arrive onsite. However, the parking lot was kind of full so I passed the location and turned back around. By the time I was back in front of the location there was a gentleman standing outside with a bag, I stopped and asked are you looking for me? He replied, "Sonya?" and I said, "Yes". Let me tell you....I was so amazed at the service and now after eating my food...AMAZED with the food. I said, if the food was as amazing as the service...I have found my location. I was a frequent customer at the Ballantyne location for about 2 years, then I moved to Huntersville. I've placed orders with the Huntersville location on several occasions, but they still can't get it right. Every order I have placed has been a disaster. They are literally 1 exit up. Now that I have discovered the University location, I will drive the 12 miles to that location and get my food. Thank you Ms. Jennifer and the University Team for the amazing service!!! Ms. S. Diggs

West Chester, OH

Just wanted you to know that you have outstanding employees @ this location. It is my favorite City BBQ. I definitely would like to recognize Megan, Both Danielle's, and of course MIKE the Man, who shared his Wonderful Birthday and birthday cake with us. Hope they never go away. Giving them much appreciation for outstanding service as well as professionalism, and warm friendly personalities.

WESTERVILLE, OH

I wanted to take a moment to thank Dejaun and Enrique for excellent customer service. I stopped by for lunch today and enjoyed chatting with them while my order was being prepared. Both gentlemen are outstanding employees and deserve recognition!

ALETHA’S CORNER

ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE

This is something we discuss in Emotional Intelligence training, but you don’t need to be in a class to understand or even practice an attitude of gratitude. Life has changed so much for so many of us, but there are many things that did not - like being appreciative, giving thanks, and letting people know how important they are to you.

An attitude of gratitude is defined as: a regular habit to express appreciation for all different parts of life, no matter how small.  As Oprah Winfrey once said, “If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”

I listened to a podcast the other day that touched this very principal, and Wow! did it speak to me. It discussed how people live their lives through other people and things that are not real. The focus was about having a true clear focus on what you have in your life and in front of you. It’s very easy to take people and circumstances for granted when you are focused on the wrong things, when you look past what’s right in front of you.

Although this seems simple, I know it can be tough. We all have so many things pulling us in many different directions, so it will take true intention  (see Being Intentional, in December’s issue of Smoke Signals.) By intention, I mean planning: planning to thank someone for something they have done. Sending a note to let someone know you appreciate the things they do. A small gift or cup of coffee, anything that says “Thank You” is a great way to say, “I see your efforts and they are appreciated. “

With all this, you also must take time to appreciate your own work and commitment to your life’s results. Whether that is working out, eating better, being more accountable, or leaning in and giving back, show yourself some gratitude as well. It’s ok to say, “I did that, and that was amazing.”  Then take it a step further, and understand all the forces behind how you were able to accomplish what you did. Did someone help you win a sales goal, shovel the snow, paint a work of art? Think about how you gained the tools to create your accomplishment. Then say, “Thank you,” and appreciate that you have those opportunities.

 I started digging into how we can create these habits, as we know they are important, but they take work to build. Here’s what I found:

Five Ways to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

1.      Appreciate everything: Look for things to appreciate daily, even growth opportunities

2.      Express gratitude everyday: Increasing gratitude starts with setting up your day to be thankful. A good practice is to start and end each day writing down three things for which you are grateful

3.      Surround yourself with gratitude-mindset focused people: When you are around other like-minded people, you feel better, and you shift your energy

4.     Take ownership of your present: Being happy about what you’ve achieved and giving thanks to the people in your life increases your gratitude

5.     Commit to a gratitude practice: When you commit to a practice, your mindset and thinking change

What I know is that every day is a new opportunity to start fresh and create the habits you want, to create the life you want. You can choose to be different, to have an attitude of gratitude! All it takes is your commitment and a plan. Then, continue to work your plan, be thankful ,and show the people around you how much they mean to you.

~ Aletha