In 1974, Texas-based Soulman’s Bar-B-Que got its start thanks to some “American grit and determination.” That’s the theme Brett Randle comes back to time and time again when talking about the brand he has led as CEO for the past 16 years.
That grit and determination started with Don Hallett, who ran a carpet business in the early ’70s but decided to give the restaurant business a shot after being talked into it by a friend named Lee. They met riding motorcycles and became really good friends, Randle recalls. On rainy days, Hallett would close his carpet shop and the two would cook ribs for everyone.
“Over time, Lee beat him down and they ended up opening up what would be Soulman’s Bar-B-Que in October 1974,” Randle said. “But as fate would have it, neither knew much about the restaurant business. They knew how to cook a rack of ribs, but that was about the extent of it.”
A day before the restaurant opened, the two realized they needed more than ribs, so they called their moms to help conceptualize a broader menu.
“Literally, this was Thursday, they were opening on Friday, moms rushed down there and formulated recipes,” Randle said. Many of those recipes are still in the business. “Memer,” as Hallett’s mom was known, passed away earlier this year and the company is honoring her this month on what would have been her 102nd birthday by giving away free pie. This will become an annual tradition.
But, back to the beginning. Though Soulman’s opened initially to much success, everything eventually hit rock bottom, as Randle explained. Lee left the concept because it wasn’t making any money, but Hallett’s motivation grew after he was threatened by his banker to make it work.
“So he did. He had this will and determination that you don’t see very often. He made it work for a long period of time,” Randle said.
However, once Soulman’s grew, Hallett struggled with multiunit management. That’s about when Randle came into the picture. Hallett and Randle met when Randle was in culinary school in Dallas. He eventually moved back to Atlanta, but about four years later, he received a call from Hallett asking him to consider moving back to help grow the Soulman’s brand. He didn’t want to at first, but he eventually moved back to Dallas in 2007 and “we hit the ground running” in January 2008. At that time, there were four locations.
“The first day I sat down with [Hallett], I asked him what his focus was going to be, and he said ‘growth,’” Randle said.
So, growth it was. But that growth has been slow and steady, with about one location opening per year. Randle describes Soulman’s as a fiscally conservative brand — the company owns all of its properties, for instance.
“So when things like recessions or Covid happen, we typically don’t get hit as bad. Having said that, from a growth plan perspective, that can sometimes be a little bit of a deterrent,” Randle said.
There are now 19 locations open with No. 20 in permitting and property secured for a few more locations. Randle predicts 24 open restaurants by the end of 2024. Soulman’s is going to uptick its conservative approach a bit, using a ground-up model that was first opened in 2020.
“It’s doing fantastic, and we feel like we can grow at a much better pace now,” Randle said. Soulman’s is targeting 50 locations within the next six to eight years. “It’s still very conservative, but we feel confident with it and the banks are 100% behind us. We just need to find the properties now.”
Soulman’s, for the time, will concentrate that growth in Texas, largely south and east of its home market in Dallas. That growth will come entirely from the company itself. As Randle explained, the company did once try to franchise, but it didn’t work for the concept.
“What we found from a barbecue perspective is franchisees just weren’t passionate about Soulman’s and barbecue the way that we were, and being a 50-year-old brand, we just couldn’t stomach it any longer. Not going to go that route again,” Randle said.
Perhaps that illustrates another important point: Barbecue is personal to many Americans depending on where they call home. What differentiates Soulman’s specifically in this vast category is its “consistent product” and a menu featuring eight different kinds of smoked meats, from brisket to ribs to turkey and ham.
“There’s a very wide variety of things. For Texas barbecue, everything is very, very fresh. So, we cut everything to order just the way you like it. Our sides are something our customers remark about the most. We have up to 15 sides and a lot are still house-made, including our potato salad that was Memer’s recipe. We still peel the potatoes in store every day,” Randle said. “There are not many 20-store chains that can say that, and we do it consistently.”
Randle said Soulman’s culture is also a differentiator. The company is faith-based and Randle said, “our faith in God compels us to treat people a little differently.”
“Our passion for excellence also differentiates us. We have hard-working people with will-do and can-do attitudes. It’s really amazing to be a part of it,” Randle said. “We have this saying that if we take care of Soulman’s, Soulman’s will take care of us.”
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Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]