Success Story

Closed for the Holidays: The BBQ Joint Enjoys the Many Benefits of Closing Between Christmas and New Year

When Tim and Sonna Ryan took an early retirement from their careers at AT&T, they expected to stay in the Midwest and enjoy their respective hobbies. Tim was smoking and grilling meat and Sonna was baking up a storm. Fate, and their children, had other plans.

"Our son kept begging us to come out to Washington," Sonna recalls. "He'd say, 'There's no good BBQ out here, Mom. You and Dad should open a BBQ restaurant.' Even our daughter got in on it. We loved the area but I resisted for 2 years before finally agreeing to take the plunge."

That's when the Ryans signed up for a RestaurantOwner.com membership.

"We found so many useful resources to help us get started. Our employee handbook is from RestaurantOwner.com and we use their spreadsheets for bookkeeping and tracking costs."

Tim and Sonna found a former video store in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island, right by the naval base. After renovating, they decided to offer a simple menu so they could focus on quality. The BBQ Joint dishes up 5 meats, 4-5 side dishes and a selection of baked-from-scratch desserts.

"We wanted to bring some good old fashioned Southern hospitality to the Pacific Northwest. And our guests love it. We've won the Best of Whidbey Island BBQ every year since we've opened. My Texas accent has never been appreciated as much as it has since we moved here!"

The BBQ Joint closes one day a week, but Sonna uses the time to manage the restaurant's bookkeeping and social media. "A day off is just a chance to do all the other stuff you can't get to during the week," she laughs.

Tim and Sonna's daughter and grandkids moved to Oak Harbor to help run the restaurant. Between the weekly day off and the extra help, the Ryans get some breathing room while running the restaurant. But last year, they realized they needed something more.

"We talked about it and decided if we're going to keep doing this, we needed a break. So, for the first time in over 10 years, we closed the restaurant for the week between Christmas and New Year's."

It's the stuff most operators dream of before they start worrying about lost revenue. But the Ryans planned ahead to minimize the financial hit.

"We scheduled our deliveries so we used up what we had and more wasn't coming in and going to waste. That helped offset any potential revenue loss. That week is usually slow and most of our customers are regulars, so with the extra rest we got, we came out ahead."

The biggest surprise was the support from their customers.

"Our staff appreciated the break. Everyone came back rejuvenated and we expected that. But we didn't expect our customers to be so happy for us. They kept saying 'Good for you!' And they were back once we reopened."

After the success of this year's holiday shutdown, the Ryans plan on closing for the holidays next year, too.

"It's the perfect reset so we can refocus on why we got into the business. We love what we do and the restaurant is our social life. I get to serve our friends, hug sailors and hold babies!"