Red hot: one of South Florida's favorite, and most successful, rib joints sets out to grow the business by staying true to its family restaurant roots and avoiding the lure of franchising

South Florida CEO, Dec, 2004 by Jeanne DeQuine

"It's rarely about the top gun--CEOs don't grow companies," he says. "The employees know a lot more than I ever will. If we can't sell the employees, [on an idea] we can't sell the customers."

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Repeat Business

Shorty's counts on return customers. Joe Feinberg, 71, has been eating ribs at Shorty's weekly for half a century. He was a University of Miami student in 1951 when Shorty's opened its first restaurant.

"They had milk bottles filled with ice water and loaves of Holsum bread on the tables," he says. "When they introduced sandwiches, they were getting 35 cents for beef on a bun with French fries."

Today, Feinberg still knows many of the staff and "many of them know my name," he adds. "It is comforting to go to a place you have been to over 50 years. The place is friendly, unpretentious and not expensive."

Shorty's past is a piece of Miami history. It got its start during a time when South Floridians still called the city "mi-AH-muh." Shorty's owners have witnessed South Florida's immigrant influxes, tourism successes, runaway development, and hurricanes. In the old days, the restaurant attracted star Dolphin football players such as Dan Marino. These days it serves former US Attorney General Janet Reno, Miami Heat basketball players, and even the actor Cameron Diaz. It has won numerous awards for its barbecue selections and Key lime pie and is a regular addition to city guides worldwide.

The vittles are prepared in a smoker that uses red-hot hickory chips. From there, they go to an open flamed char-broiler. The barbecue sauce is a 50-year old Georgia recipe, Vasturo says. Two other sauces have been added for variety. Many staff who have worked there for decades appear close to one another, adding to the friendly feel. Regulars say they drop in for the camaraderie as much as a quick, inexpensive lunch. The average check runs around $8.

At those prices, Shorty's is competitive with fast food outlets. A quarter chicken lunch special with fries, coleslaw and garlic bread costs $3.49, cheaper than many burgers. A barbecue beef sandwich with fries runs $4.99. Beer and wine are served. Best selling items include chicken plates and baby back ribs. Salads, recently added in three locations, are also popular.

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"In the last year to 18 months, the [restaurant] market has done extremely well. Barbecue is a great American product," says Michael Seid, co-author of Franchising for Dummies. His Hartford, Conn.-based firm Michael H. Seid & Associates assists companies in making franchise decisions. "There are a number of players getting into the area."

Seid notes that despite its mainstream appeal, barbecue's history as a Southern US cooking tradition also places it within a category of ethnic food. "When barbecue is truly done well in the south, in Texas, or Missouri, it is almost a cult item," he said.

The recent popularity of low-carbohydrate, heavy protein diets would seem to support future customer demand, though Shorty's Vasturo is not so sure. "It probably helped us, but we have never tried to capitalize on it,'" he says. It is another trend he does not feel obliged to follow.