All regional BBQ flavors are represented at Red River

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 6, 1997 by Milford Prewitt

Can an ex-oil prospector find happiness and fortune as a budding barbecue baron?

Ron Sofranko, founder and president of Red River Barbeque & Grille, looks as if he can.

In less than a year, the onetime geophysicist who roamed the Southwest for Exxon, looking for black gold has grown his barbecue chain from an annual volume of $1.7 million to $10 million.

Private investors who want to reap the benefits of his Midas touch have committed sufficient funds to allow Sofranko to grow his company, now a five-unit chain, located in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The newest unit opened to packed houses just three weeks ago in Columbia, Md. His other outlets are in Pittsburgh; Frederick and Waldorf, Md.; and Woodbridge, Va. Others are planned for Annapolis, Md., and Reston, Va.

Sofranko, a Pittsburgh native, said he became enraptured with Southwestern food flavors through barbecuing while living in that part of the country. Impressed by the region's history in the era of the Old West, Sofranko hit upon the idea of creating a barbecue restaurant with an Old West-style sensibility.

The first prototype opened in 1994. The name of the chain comes from "Red River," a classic John Wayne Western.

"I grew up in the Pittsburgh area, and I saw an opportunity in the barbecue niche," Sofranko said. "I was not all that happy at Exxon and wanted to move on to bigger and better things, plus I had an entrepreneurial spirit that I had repressed.

"But even though there are a lot of players in the barbecue segment, I really though I could come up with something different that would appeal to customers, and I'm happy to see I was right."

With 170 to 200 seats, Red River restaurants look like the mildly weather-beaten general store on Main Street from the TV series "Bonanza." Red River units include a large front porch, some with rocking chairs.

But it's the food that Sofranko says has allowed him to build a steadily growing and loyal following.

"There are two components that make barbecue succeed or fail," he said. "The first is the type of wood and the kind of cooking process used. Every barbecue chain, Red Hot & Blue or Tony Roma's, takes a different approach.

"What we like to do is to cook our meats slowly over hickory wood, but even more, we like the spice rub and proprietary seasonings that we've developed.

"So you have a cooking process and a sauce component, and I think how the sauce reacts to the cooking, process is how the flavor is going to be imparted."

"So you have a cooking process and a sauce component, and I think how the sauce reacts to the cooking process is how the flavor is going to be imparted."

The barbecue sauces Red River serves -- mild, hot and daredevil -- are fat-free.

Briskets, one of the chain's specialty items, are cooked nearly 16 hours in rotisserie ovens. Sofranko said the effect from such long cooking times is a soft texture that often leaves plates clean.

The menu also includes grilled salmon, grilled chicken, a brisket enchilada, chicken sandwiches and a variety of salads.

"Most barbecue chains are oriented toward the male [appetite]," Sofranko said. "But our intention is to appeal to women and children with enough options to keep the veto customer."

Besides borrowing heavily from Southwestern flavors, Red River's menu includes dishes derived from other parts of the country, a gambit that Sofranko hopes will allow the chain to grow to at least 100 units -- even in places like North Carolina, where barbecue is a regional specialty.

Such dishes as the Sedona salmon, Texas steak salad and the Carolina pulled-pork sandwich personify the trend.

"If you look at barbecue, it's real Americana," Sofranko said. "Every part of the country has a particular way they like it, but no chain has yet addressed that from a national serving style -- until now."

Though most of his customers aren't aware of it, Sofranko fuses the patriotic theme "Buy American" into his operations. He insists on buying only American-raised pork ribs, as opposed to imports from Denmark, a source Sofranko insists is used by many of his competitors.

He says the American variety tastes just as good and is handled better.

Recently, Sofranko's efforts were rewarded when the chain snagged Pittsburgh's top barbecue prize in a local competition.

Red River had teamed up with "C.L. Hawg," whose real name is C.L. Hallam -- a former homebuilder -- who travels the nation, winning barbecue contests. In his competitions Hallam promotes Red River barbecue sauces.