Today we’d like to introduce you to David Roberts.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started working the family business when I was 14! Now that I’m 26 it’s crazy to think I started from the very bottom working my way up, doing dishes for a couple years then becoming more involved with production until I became a shift manager. Once reaching shift manager, I began training for duties that would become what I’m doing today! Being Co-GM with my older brother. Now that my dad has retired, we have been running the business for 3 years now and have had nothing but continued record business and growth! Our growth happened because we have done a few things right. It comes down to knowing who you are, having a strong sense of identity through our business decisions, our marketing, and our concept. You can’t grow or continue to grow by shying away from the challenges ahead of you. Being different from your competition for the sake of being different won’t work, you have to be wholly yourself in this process! Where we stand now we are on our sixth year of growth, beating our previous records and doing things at a capacity we couldn’t even have imagined just a couple of years ago!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Youth can be your greatest advantage as well as your largest obstacle. For my brother(31) and I, youth had to have been our achilles heel. There were many times that we had customers and even business partners raise their voice or not take us seriously because we are “young and dumb”. As long as you remember to learn and soak in anything and everything as you go, youth in business will only give you a head start over others!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Shawnee’s Bates City BBQ?
We are a family BBQ restaurant that has been around for 25 years and is on the second generation of operators! The most important part or the business isn’t just serving great BBQ but to communicate that those who run the business are just as important. We highlight the people in our business as often as we can, in fun and light hearted ways! It’s also a priority for us to give shout-outs to other local businesses as well as to collaborate with them when we can! Breaking down the barriers of the conventional business midset and giving other small businesses the spotlight because they just simply deserve it! Any restaurant can post pretty pictures of food and get people to walk in the door, but not everyone can build personal long lasting relationships and friendships with customers. We have an unbelievable customer base that shouts to the rooftops for us, we can’t be thankful enough for them! Our silly advertisements as well as our passionate following on Facebook has been a major advantage for our growth. Our SLABS OF RIBS are the absolute go-to around here! We have built our operation around our Thursday and Sunday special. We have grown that business to selling over 16k of them a year! With the likely chance of reaching 17k of them sold in 2025 when it’s all said and done! We are truly proud of the fundraisers we have been hosting that began in May of 2025! We have a monthly Jeep Night that is on the last Saturday of each month from March- October where we take 10% of our total daily sales as well as a little raffle where all donations go straight to Sunflower House(children’s advocacy center)! They have been such a great time and successful that we just keep on exploring new ways to make them better and support them!
Any big plans?
Our plans for the future include a couple of simple things. Learn and wait for the right opportunity to come across. We are young so we want to learn as much as possible, I’m 26 and my brother is 31 so we have a lot of time to keep on learning. We are also waiting for the right opportunity to come across for expansion, whether it be to moving to a bigger and better spot or finding an opportunity for another location! There have been several opportunities that have already come across us in the short period of time we have been running the show but we have to make sure it is just right! We will not risk losing our identity to force an opportunity!
Pricing:
- Slab Special on Thursday and Sunday $16
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Shawneesbatescitybbq.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawneesbatescitybbq?igsh=MW9tcmlwMWhnbmcw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DDA8Gkdym/
