Ryan Smolkin, founder and CEO of Smoke’s Poutinerie, will deliver the opening keynote at the 2019 Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit.
One only has to peruse the menu at Smokes Poutinerie to understand the passion behind the 150-location fast casual brand.
Or they could simply meet founder Ryan Smolkin who is not hard to miss when he’s out spreading the word about his 9-year-old franchise cropping up at incredible speed from Canada to Hollywood to Tampa. The brand opened 10 franchises just the second year of operation, and that figure has just kept doubling.
Ryan will share his franchising expertise with attendees of the 4th annual Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit, March 11-13 in Louisville.
“It’s been a wild ride,” Smolkin said with a huge grin while promoting his franchise at the recent International Franchise Expo held at the Javits Conference Center in New York City and wearing his typical attire — a red plaid hunters cap, signature shades and red shirt. He’s hard to miss even in the throng of thousands attending the three-day event.
Smolkin is also the brand’s alter ego, a man called Smoke who, as legend has it, revamped the Canadian Poutine. Smoke even has his own Twitter hashtag #PlaidNation, an obvious nod to the founder’s garb. The Smoke’s Poutinerie menu is clearly as passionate and colorful as its brand leader. Based on the simple French fry with gravy concept, Smolkin makes poutine a culinary extravaganza to meet the want of his core audience (Canadians, college students, travelers).
The hand-cut made fresh daily fries, cheese curd and “signature gravy” can be topped with dozens of extras (from pork to chicken to steak and vegetarian options). Think chili cheese bacon, the “hangover” choice featuring scrambled eggs, double-smoked bacon and maple syrup, the ‘hogtown’ boasting Italian sausage, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions and that double-smoked bacon.
There’s the Korean Poutine — complete with flatiron steak, sambal, Korean BBQ sauce and green onions. Or try the non meat Rainbow, topped off with guacamole, sriracha sauce, sour cream and cheese sauce. And, of course, one can always get extra curd, gravy, meat or add double-smoked bacon if it’s not on the ingredient list.
All those creative takes on the poutine is driving a billion dollars in sales at this point. And while each location offers the same menu, each Smoke’s is different than all the others — a purposeful decision that’s also tied to some operational aspects. Some locations, due to consumer interest, require two fryer stations for example.
“They’re all unique,” said Smolkin, but very much the same in some critical ways. Each location, he said, is focused on building the brand, offering the same experience and the same atmosphere. “People are just embracing it,” he added.
Smoke’s average customer is between the ages of 18 and 25 and typically have a fun nightlife as franchise sales spike between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m.
Each year Smolkin hosts a CEO challenge for charity — whichever company leader can eat the most poutine in two minutes is the winner. Smolkin, who won last year’s title, ate 3 1/2 pounds (equivalent to 7 orders).
It’s that contagious love for poutine that caught Toine Murphy’s attention when he heard about Smoke’s from another business colleague. He, along with three other associates, was all in after spending time visiting Smoke’s, talking with customers and talking at length with Smolkin. Murphy and his business group operate franchises in Michigan, Ohio and downtown Detroit.
“I had never done a restaurant and had heard only horror stories [about going into franchising],” he recalled, adding that he researched so thoroughly it was as if he was seeking a reason to say ‘no’ to becoming a franchisee, he said. He conducted in-the-street interviews, asking locals in bars where he could get good poutine and the answer always came back the same: Smoke’s.
Success, according to both Smolkin and Murphy, is tied to a few factors.
“Keep it simple and focus on the experience,” advised Murphy.
Smolkin, just as enthusiastically, says franchise success is all about having no fear and doing what Nike says to do: just do it.
“It’s about being real, having fun, don’t be afraid. It’s about passion.”
Registration is now open and early bird pricing is in effect until Nov. 2. Register here.
About Networld Media Group
Founded in 2000, Networld Media Group is a leading business-to-business (B2B) global media communications company specializing in digital media, associations and events in the mobile, self-service, digital signage, retail, food service and financial services industries. Online properties include ATMmarketplace.com, BlockchainTechNews.com, DigitalSignageToday.com, FastCasual.com, FoodTruckOperator.com, KioskMarketplace.com, MobilePaymentsToday.com, PizzaMarketplace.com, QSRweb.com, RetailCustomerExperience.com and BiblicalLeadership.com. Networld event properties include the Fast Casual Executive Summit, CONNECT: The Mobile CX Summit, Interactive Customer Experience Summit, Bank Customer Experience Summit and the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit. Networld also operates the ICX Association. BOOM! Creative, provides clients with digital creative, custom media and brand collateral. Its newest offering, World of Money, is a daily e-newsletter that provides a fun and informative look at the trends, technologies, and ideas shaping the future of money and payments.
###
