Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/165618
Q&A A Steak Rub's Legacy BY DENISE SHOUKAS C har Crust was born as the signature spice rub at Chicago steakhouse Al Farber's, which opened in 1957. Chefs across the country relied on it to craft meat with a sizzling charred crust and juicy interior. After the restaurant closed upon owner Nathan Silver's passing, son Bernard Silver continued to sell the rub to chefs. When he met his wife Susan Eriksen, he wooed her with delicious dinners—made with Char Crust, naturally. Enamored, she agreed to help build the brand. In 1998, they introduced a retail line at the Fancy Food Show and today they offer 10 retail flavors and 22 foodservice. Here, Eriksen shares how she and her husband run the company and how distributors changed their business. How do you and your husband split the responsibilities? If Char Crust were a movie, Bernie would be the producer; I would be the director. He manages all the day-to-day accounting, payroll and other financial and legal responsibilities of the company. I manage sales, marketing, production, R & D, inventory and forecasting. CHAR CRUST Location: Chicago, IL Year Founded: 1992 Products: Char Crust dry rubs Best Seller: Original Hickory Grilled and Roasted Garlic Peppercorn If you knew you were having your last meal, what would you choose to eat? [Chicago's] Primehouse sells their meat to go, so I would bring home a rib-eye and some lamb chops and Char Crust them! 112 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE What experience did you bring to the table? I'm a Jill-of-all-trades and had a background in science, publishing and marketing. That was an asset when we started the company, but as our business grew, I had to learn how to delegate: managing our production team and office staff and hiring outside specialists for graphic design or website work. How did you approach expanding your line over the years? I always remember [former Specialty Food Association president] John Roberts saying at the Basics class in 1998: "If you're going to make salad dressings, you better have a ranch dressing in your line." He emphasized that creativity is fine, but only if it sells. What's a surprising success you've had? Our first Fancy Food Show in 1998. It was a game-changer. Our booth was mobbed all four days, and we made enough sales on day one to pay for all expenses of the show. It really jumpstarted our retail distribution. And the biggest challenge? Growing our business in the foodservice channel. Our roots were in food- specialtyfood.com service, and chefs who used Char Crust became lifetime fans, so we trusted that if we kept getting the word out, eventually we'd reach a tipping point. How did distributors change your business? Since the first show, we attracted distributors who were willing to "pioneer" our line. We are still going strong with those same distributors today. I went from hand-delivering Char Crust to local stores to looking at distributor reports in Excel. It's a lot of work keeping up with distributor changes, from procedures to personnel. Having great brokers has been a boon. Can you share a recent memorable culinary experience? For his birthday last month, I took my husband out to dinner at David Burke's Primehouse, where they dry-age USDA prime-grade beef in their cooler, which is lined in Himalayan pink salt tiles. We had the 55-day aged ribeye steak. It was stunningly delicious— the closest thing to my father-in-law's steak that we have ever eaten. That food memory made it a rather emotional experience. Denise Shoukas is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.