Shane’s Rib Shack Celebrates Five Years - 50th Location is the Icing on the Cake

ATLANTA - Shane’s Rib Shack, started in McDonough, Ga. in 2002, had humble beginnings with a simple man’s dream, his family BBQ sauce recipe and a rural roadside shack. Fifty shacks later, Shane’s Rib Shack celebrates its fifth birthday.

In just five years, Shane’s Rib Shack has made its mark as the nation’s fastest-growing fast-casual BBQ restaurant and expects to have 500 locations by the close of 2010. Shane’s has grown from two locations in 2004; to 11 locations in 2005; to 40 locations in 2006 and is on track to exceed 100 this year.

It was Shane’s sauce that caught the attention of Atlanta-based Raving Brands, a multi-concept franchise company and now parent company of Shane’s. The McDonough rib shack goes through about 40 gallons of its private-label sauce each day, a family recipe from founder Shane Thompson’s grandfather, Big Dad…and a secret only a handful of people share.

“We have witnessed an amazing demand from people all over the country who want to get behind the counter of a Shane’s,” explains Shane Thompson, founder of Shane’s Rib Shack. “The demand is there. Now we need to be smart about our growth and remain true to what got us here – the highest quality ribs and barbecue in casual, no-frills shacks.”

Shane’s fifth year is marked by its 50th location, located in Woodstock, Ga., in north Metro Atlanta. Laura and Ed Patzsch are the proud owners of the new location that sits at 2864 E. Cherokee Street. The Woodstock shack is the youngest in the family and shares the same menu with the original rib shack in McDonough. In fact, this one is a near replica…only it has air-conditioning and indoor bathrooms, and the original has neither.

”Plotting this concept’s strategic, national growth has been an unbelievable ride,” says Bret Eldridge, vice president of Shane’s Rib Shack and longtime friend of Thompson. “It’s full steam ahead for us as we continue to deliver a consistent, quality-driven experience at each of our more than 50 locations, from McDonough Ga. to Phoenix, Ariz. to Des Moines, Iowa.”

Shane’s is famous for its sauce and everything it touches -- baby back ribs, its trademark heaping pork sandwich, chopped BBQ chicken platters and made-from-scratch sides, such as Brunswick stew and mac-and-cheese. Unlike most rib joints and barbecue concepts, Shane’s only serves baby back ribs verses the lesser quality spare rib and St. Louis rib cuts. All pork is smoked for 10 hours and hand-chopped to order. You will never find a mechanical cutter in a Shane’s shack.