Deep Run Roadhouse
Tracy Nayar
March 31, 2020
Roads to growth
Deep Run Roadhouse supports 17 jobs, has 7-figure sales, and developed a growth plan that involves opening a third restaurant.
Well-known chef, Paul Hubbard, cooked at upscale Richmond restaurants like Chez Max, Franco’s, and Sensi’s, but found his niche in humble barbecue. “I did finedining for a while, and I got tired of cooking for one percent of the population,” Paul explains. “What I truly love about barbecue is that the same attention to detail and the same high quality ingredients are there, but the appreciation comes from a much wider audience.”
Paul previously co-founded Alamo Barbecue with business partner Christopher Davis. In 2013, he sold his half to Christopher in order to launch Deep Run Roadhouse. Since then Deep Run Roadhouse’s mouth-watering offerings of Tex Mex, southern comfort food, and barbecue have proven successful in the Richmond market. In 2016, he opened a second Deep Run Roadhouse near the Virginia Commonwealth University campus.
Paul had no intention of stopping at two restaurants. But he wanted help as he weighed options for further growth. He contacted Professor Louis Martinette at the University of Mary Washington, who leads a program that allows MBA students to work on real-life projects. Louis, in turn, asked Brian Baker, the SBDC Executive Director, to join Paul’s project. According to Brian, “Deep Run Roadhouse had cash flow and potentially favorable financing, but Paul wanted to assess the current market positions and the current service channels to determine the best market opportunities for growth.”
The MBA students were divided into five teams, and their assignment was to present the pros and cons of the growth option assigned to their team. The five options included (1) staying in Richmond and buying the restaurants’ real estate, (2) expanding the Deep Run Roadhouse into new territories, (3) licensing or franchising the Roadhouse concept, (4) catering with food trucks, and (5) establishing a barbecue “academy” to teach other restauranteurs. Ultimately, Paul chose (1) and (2) — opening another Roadhouse, this time in Hampton Roads, and buying the real estate. “This is an ongoing engagement to help Deep Run Roadhouse move to the next level,” Brian explains.
According to Paul, the process was incredibly eye opening, as the teams worked with him through such issues as a competitive growth analysis and the development of detailed mission and vision statements. “There are a lot of things to take into consideration when you take the next steps,” says Paul. “When you own any business, you are looking for ways of creating responsible growth. This process put so many things into context for me.”
If there is one thing Paul loves more than cooking barbecue, it’s seeing something come together. As he plans for 2020, it is clear that everything is progressing well for this young chef. Paul explains, “To open up a restaurant and be successful, you have to love what you do. And I truly do.”
