Franchise Focus

Sonny's BBQ: A dish-rags to riches story

Thirty-one years ago, an 18-year-old Josh McCall was done with the restaurant business until then he found his calling at Sonny's BBQ in Florida.

Josh McCall is a partner in the iServ group, which owns several Sonny's BBQ locations.

June 25, 2021

By Dan Hyman
Special to FastCasual

Thirty-one years ago, an 18-year-old Josh McCall was done with the restaurant business.

He'd been through that ringer a few times and, well, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling it just wasn't for him.

"I didn't think it fit me or maybe I didn't fit it," he said about an industry in which he'd previously seen managers talking down to lower-level employees and generally not showing a ton of respect for their fellow colleagues. "You really were just a number," he adds of his initial experiences in the restaurant industry. "My impression of the restaurant business was it wasn't a place where people were made to feel welcome or appreciated for everything they did."

What he soon realized, however, was that he simply hadn't been at the right restaurant. When, on a whim, McCall took what was supposed to be a stopgap job at the Lake City, Florida. location of Sonny's BBQ, he couldn't have known he'd be embarking on arguably the most personally and professionally fulfilling adventure of his life.

The family man has since risen through the ranks at Sonny's to become a franchisee and said that working at the barbecue chain was in many ways the first time he felt truly respected as an employee and collaborator.

"I felt like I was working somewhere where not only did people care about each other, but managers cared about people, treated people well, and had high expectations of others," he said. "They wanted accountability. But by the same token, they treated people with respect."

This was a comforting notion to him — that hard-working, kind people were recognized for solid work. It's a mindset McCall said he's only seen expand over his time at Sonny's.

"I just remember looking around one day and saying, "You know what? I think I want to try this for a while," he remembered of his early days at Sonny's. "It really seems to fit me"

It's been quite the journey for McCall ever since: over the past three decades, the grandfather of two has logged time at nearly every position within the company, starting out as a dishwasher, moving up to restaurant manager, then area director and now serving as a franchisee.

He's also witnessed firsthand the company itself grow in a major way. There are nearly 100 Sonny's BBQs located across the Southeastern United States, with local pitmasters serving communities since 1968. In addition to the physical growth, the company went through a major rebrand in the mid-2010s and remodeled nearly 70 locations. It also launched a signature cause branding program, Random Acts of BBQ, and most recently introduced the first-ever chief kindness officer who leads the 'Q the Kindness platform to help amplify kindness. Another cornerstone for the brand was the implementation of OLO and curbside to make digital ordering quick and seamless.

"I think the reason I've been successful at Sonny's is I've spent most of my career always trying to be the obvious choice for the next position," said McCall, who is a partner in the iServ group, which owns several Sonny's locations. "No matter what I was doing, I wanted to learn what the next guy was doing because when they move on or move up, I want to be the obvious choice to take that spot. I think that's been a great opportunity I've had at Sonny's and it's paid off for me."

Crucial to the culture at Sonny's is the feeling that it's a family affair:

"Every Sonny's I've ever been to, each team is its own family," he said. "And then when we all get together it's like a family reunion. That's something I enjoyed at the very beginning and it's probably the biggest thing I enjoy today about being a part of Sonny's. It's just one big family."

What also sets Sonny's apart is the mentorship component

"The biggest opportunity Sonny's gave me was great mentoring," he said. "I was in the company of some really good men and women — people who are good at what they do, but more importantly are good to people. You were a real person and appreciated. And then on top of that, there was always just the opportunity to learn new positions and do new things.

"That fit me well and gave me the opportunity I needed to grow at Sonny's and, in turn, take care of my family."

Nothing is more essential to McCall than passing on those lessons.

"I think the thing we have to do is continue to provide opportunities for people that allows them to showcase their skills and shows them that they have growth opportunities at Sonny's," he said. "We have to show that we haven't become such a big company now that they are just a number. That they're still people and what they do matters. That's our challenge as a company and something we continue to challenge ourselves with every day.

"There's talented people of all types out there, and we want them all to want to be at Sonny's and be a part of this family."

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