What business lessons have you learned since starting Bodean’s BBQ in 2002?
Going into business, you’re bound to make mistakes. When I started Bodean’s something I couldn’t predict was that there was going to be a war in Iraq, and there I was starting out, trying to offer the British market a form of Americana.
The first lesson I learned was that if you’re trying to promote something new – American food had faded away since it was introduced to the UK in the 1980s – you need outside help. When I took on a PR company, it really helped me to get the word out. We wanted to show that Bodean’s was value for money, an experience for families, and that it was a people’s restaurant. Some places are selective in the customers they try to attract, but we’re open house.
Another lesson was where to open and find a stage for your brand. I came across a lot of business associates who said, regardless of the amount of rental money you’re going to be paying, opening a restaurant in the West End is going to create a great stage for your product – I went with their advice and the first Bodean’s was in Soho.
Your brother is also in the restaurant industry - did he give you any advice?
I came here [to the UK] in 1991 as an ex-banker from Canada and joined my brother Denis [Blais] and his business partner Andre Plisnier, who created the restaurant chain Belgo. Working with them was a stepping stone for me. I saw the errors that were made, so by the time I became an entrepreneur myself, bells went off each time I’d come to a dead end street.
Did Denis and Andre act as your business mentors?
Yes, definitely. Denis is a wealth of creative input and a marketing ace and Andre is more of a back-of-house person, crunching the numbers. They introduced me to the London restaurant scene.
I’d seen what they’d done with various ventures before Belgo. They had stimulated people to enjoy going out [to eat] again – Belgo [in Soho] was theatre underneath a restaurant rooftop. I remember serving Richard Gere, Miranda Richardson and Willem Dafoe, and watching Chaka Khan singing at one of the restaurant tables. I’m name-dropping now, but from that I realised Denis and Andre had created something welcoming, new and fun that had durability.
Why did you decide to leave Belgo?
My brother, Plisnier and the other partners that were involved had sold off the business to Luke Johnson around 1999. It went on to become a public company that was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and that was a whole other game.
I went from being an operations director to a development director – I couldn’t even define my job, I didn’t know what it involved. Things began to fall short in the business and I ended up taking care of failing units, trying to bring them up to scratch and selling them. I felt that my life was shortlived there and that there must be a better life outside.
A reader asks: How do you keep Bodean’s fresh in the face of an American food trend in the UK?
I don’t research our competitors – I’ve never even eaten at any of them – but I stay true to my products. It’s imperative that the food is perfect quality. At one point, we realised that the quantity of meat that we needed to smoke on a day-to-day basis meant it was impossible to maintain consistently high standards if we used a separate smoking pit in each unit. So I created a central kitchen in 2008, where all the pork was smoked. Around 12 tonnes of meat comes out of there each week. By centralising the smoke kitchen we were controlling costs. We passed those savings on to our guests by keeping price points moderate.
Also, we keep the restaurants authentic with live DJs and new American-brewed beers. And introducing new products helps to keep things fresh. We’re doing tri-tip steak now [a lower cut of sirloin], which is cooked for 20 hours – it’s as popular as pulled pork.
Bodean’s isn’t big, brash and loud, but when people come in they have an awesome experience. And when they have a bad experience we know about it. I always read TripAdvisor reviews, so I know when we were poor one night and we’ve got to raise our game – that’s how I keep my team on their toes.
What have been your biggest mistakes?
When the recession hit, I had Bodean’s branches in Soho, Clapham, Fulham and Westbourne Grove. Westbourne Grove proved demographically problematicand we lost around £1m on it. There were flash floods in the area, which shut down our opening. Then the street was closed to put in new water mains. But I learned that it’s imperative to step back and see the results of each unit before you put your hands on another one, especially if it’s self-funded.
Westbourne Grove had to be shut and I had to streamline my hierarchy of staffing in the group. I realised my product was more important than anything else.
So I took a break from opening new units because I wanted to strengthen the bottom line and make sure the brand and product were stronger than ever. The recession helped me to rethink. We’ve gone from making £700,000 in 2008 to making £3m over the past two financial years from the same five venues.
A lot of my staff have been with me since 2005 and that helps me feel confident that I can now open more units – we’re planning on one or two a year.
Our newest unit on City Road in London opened a couple of weeks ago. On its current performance, the return on investment should be better than 33%. It’s a good location. Although I do worry, because when you see a restaurant on every high street it sometimes cheapens a brand.
What would you say to someone considering starting a food business?
There is no better adventure in the world than owning a brand, but there is always homework to be done beforehand. Hire an accountant to explain how much cash you’ll have weekly to pay off your debts, or how many burgers you’ll have to sell to break even.
And if you go into business with a partner, make sure you really get to know them beforehand.
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