Message from Mike
Hello Team City Barbeque,
2019 is officially behind us and we are full speed ahead into 2020. On behalf of the Leadership Team, I want to thank you and your teams for making 2019 our best year ever. 2019 was a year of change and you all responded in role model fashion, embracing the change, driving positive results, and setting up Team City Barbeque for an amazing future—a future in which we will Own the Barbeque Lane.
Although 2020 will continue to bring continued change, it’s critically important to remember that those things that made City Barbeque great will never change. First, we will always put our people first. I believe very strongly that our guests’ experiences should never exceed the experience of our Team Members. This requires that we operate every day with an inside-out approach, putting our people first. If we hire the absolute best and provide them with a great training experience and a best-in-city culture in which to work, we will never fail in delivering Backyard Hospitality to our guests. Talented and happy Team Members will never let us—or more importantly, our guests—down!
Another cultural behavior at our core that will never change is our dedication to Competition Quality ingredients and food. We all know that a perfect score in barbeque is a 9 and we can never, ever, under any circumstance, compromise on serving food that meets our highest standards. One of our key initiatives for 2020 is the development of a comprehensive menu strategy. As a result, you will routinely see new ingredients, new food, and enhancements to existing products being introduced. As we put these new items and practices in place, we all must operate with an unwavering commitment to Competition Quality. To guarantee we score a 9 with every guest, every time, we must all commit to executing our recipes 100% to the spec and not settle for anything less. As we grow our food pipeline and introduce new products, rest assured that everything we introduce is being done so with the expectation it will meet or exceed our tried-and-true practice of delivering Competition Quality food that scores a 9 every time.
The cultural foundation created over the last 20 years is what will allow us to accelerate our growth plans and expand this amazing brand at a rate we haven’t experienced before. 2020 will bring much excitement and many challenges. The pace at which we grow will begin to be felt by all as we work to open eight joints in 2020 and fourteen in 2021, with the number increasing each year thereafter. To Own the Barbeque Lane in every city where we operate, we will all be required to work a bit differently. It will require more than just an open mind to change, but a willingness to embrace our cultural behavior of Improving a Little Every Day. The opportunities that lie ahead are endless, regardless of your role or position at City Barbeque. 2020 will be a very important year as we prepare to transition to a much higher rate of expansion and we all must be ready for the challenge.
In 2020, I encourage you to stretch yourself and grow as a leader, as well as a contributor to Team City Barbeque. We all must work to make our joints and support teams better than they were yesterday. We must operate with an open mind and keep our eye on the prize: Owning the Barbeque Lane won’t just happen, we must go make it happen.
Thank you for all you do—let’s make 2020 another breakout year!