Shane's Rib Shack reconnects with roots

In the past seven years, Shane’s Rib Shack has grown quickly from this lone restaurant to 68 outlets, stretching as far north as Albany, N.Y., and as far west as Phoenix, Ariz. The chain was ranked No. 20 on the 2008 Movers and Shakers list by Fast Casual magazine, a publication that tracks the restaurant industry.

It’s not been an easy process for Thompson, though.

A deal signed in 2004 put Shane's Rib Shack under Raving Brands, an Atlanta-based restaurant group that managed a host of different concepts ranging from burrito restaurants to breakfast chains.

The move fueled much of the growth for Shane's but also distanced Thompson from the chain. He was primarily used as a spokesman.

Earlier this year, Thompson returned to the chain in a more active role as Petrus Brands, a newly formed company, bought Shane’s Rib Shack from Raving.

Thompson has become president of the chain under Petrus. His wife Stacey, who often works the counter at the original shack, now leads the Shack Crew, a team that helps franchisees with training and marketing.

Chris Morocco, a former Raving executive and now CEO of Petrus Brands, said he wouldn’t have made the deal for Shane's Rib Shack without the Thompsons.

“Two of the best decisions I think I’ve made were bringing Shane back as president and Stacey back in managing the Shack Crew,” Morocco said. “I thought it was essential to preserving the culture.”

In many ways, the deal has brought the chain back to the store in McDonough where Shane's Rib Shack was started. The new stores, which have rustic cues but a modern feel, are found mostly in recently built strip shopping centers.

Thompson, previously in the medical equipment sales business, opened the original shack in 2002 on the side of a rural highway about 30 miles south of Atlanta. He had no restaurant experience, but he did have his grandfather’s secret recipe and a new take on barbecue.

Thompson envisioned a barbecue place that had broad appeal. Instead of a traditional wood-fired pit, he used electric smokers. This raised the eyebrows of some barbecue purists, but customers could leave Shane’s Rib Shack without the thick smell of smoke hanging on their clothes.

It also allowed Shane's Rib Shack to cook the meat with more consistency, something that would help the chain as it expanded with franchising.

The original shack was an immediate hit in McDonough, pushing the tiny restaurant to its limits. In 2004, Innovative Brands, a company that would later merge with Raving, struck a deal with Shane to buy and expand the brand.

Thompson kept an equity stake in the chain but became less involved over time. Shane’s Rib Shack was one of nine Raving concepts with five of them having founders that started their restaurants outside of Raving.

“It’s hard to manage a business with one founder,” said Morocco, previously chief development officer for Raving. “When you have five, I think that probably had an impact on Raving’s philosophy on how active a role founders would play.”

Thompson tries not to second-guess the deal with Raving. It helped spread Shane’s Rib Shack from McDonough to a host of other cities.

But he’s glad to be back. Since the January deal with Petrus, Shane and Stacey Thompson have worked to reconnect the chain to its roots. Shane’s Rib Shack has stepped up franchisee training and support.

Stacey and her Shack Crew team help train employees at new restaurants on customer service. They also visit existing restaurants, blanketing the nearby area to spread the word on Shane's Rib Shack.

They make sure every franchisee visits the original shack in McDonough. "We want them to have an experience, so they see what it's like here," Stacey said. "We want them to know our story and know our history."

Under Petrus, Thompson also is making some changes to the look and feel of the stores.

He's taking down the menu board at the entrance that promoted individual combo meals. It made the store look too much like fast-food, Thompson said. He wants to stress catering and family style dining more heavily.

Shane’s Rib Shack also will be using a new mural that showcases the people behind the original restaurant. The stores now just have a generic image of a country road.

“This is real. This is where it came from,” Thompson said referring to the new mural. “It’s not a manufactured McShane’s.”

Thompson has taken on his new role at a difficult time for restaurants.  Across the chain, same-store sales are down in the single digits, Thompson said. Guest traffic is holding up but the average ticket is for less money, he said.

Thompson, though, said his goal is to stabilize the chain this year and position it for manageable growth. He expects to add one store a month, maybe two some months, he said.

He wants to focus on expansion in its core Southeast market. Shane's has a five-store deal for the Savannah area.

It's not about numbers anymore, Thompson said. "I deal with the past and wishing I could have made things a little better," he said. "But I look forward and it's at a great place. I don't plan on going anywhere."