Today we’d like to introduce you to Raf Robinson.
Hi Raf, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My background in hospitality dates back to junior high when my father opened his first jazz club in San Antonio, TX. While attending college at UT Austin, I worked in bars downtown to pay for school. After graduation in 2003, I decided to open my first bar with a friend, Firehouse Lounge. I helped open multiple hospitality businesses between 2003 and now, including a coffee shop, brewery, and restaurants in Austin. I met my business partner Mark Avalos on a snowboarding trip back in 2008. In 2013, Mark invited me to help him grow a bbq food trailer business called SLAB BBQ.
I loved the hip hop-themed concept and heard great reviews regarding the food, so I was all in. We opened our first brick and mortar location in 2014 off Burnet Rd and hope to open our 3rd location in Cedar Park this spring. I love this city and how the community supports local business. I believe it’s truly the heart of Austin. The spirit of entrepreneurship flows freely in every corner of the city from tech to the arts. I also love music and have been able to incorporate this passion in each business I’ve launched. It’s given me the opportunity to work with some amazing artist like, Questlove, Kaskade, Diplo, Willie Nelson, Shakey Graves, and many more.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Every business I’ve launched has come with challenges. The biggest challenge has always been capital. No matter how much planning we do, it never seems to be enough. Life has a way of sending you things that you did not or could not plan for. We went over budget by a six figure amount on our first bar due to inexperience in understanding the permitting process in Austin. Nearly two decades later and many projects under my belt, permitting still seems to be a hurdle that can cause lots of stress and money. Resilience, faith, great teams and hard work have been the keys to success for me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about SLAB BBQ?
SLAB BBQ (SLAB acronym: Slow Low & Bangin’) is not your traditional Texas bbq joint. We aren’t serving meat on paper or two meat/two side plates. No country music playing through the speakers here. We are a bbq sammich restaurant that brings bbq flavors from across the US and serves it with a little hip hop swag. We smoke our meats using traditional bbq methods, Slow and Low, but we add a little flava with toppings like queso, hot cheetos or one of our house made bbq sauces. The hustle and renegade hip hop spirit is in everything we do. We love that we get to fuse our love of bbq & hip hop into a brand that represents our roots. Our merch is hip hop all day and has been sported by Guy Fieri and Bun B. Our mission at SLAB BBQ is simple, Keep It 100. This means that we strive to give 100% quality and satisfaction 100% of the time. Being featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives as well as Man vs. Food has certainly been twop highlights of our journey.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Prior to Covid, the restaurant industry was moving more and more tech heavy. 3rd party delivery services like UberEats and Favor were gaining traction while other big chains were incorporating tech into their online ordering and kiosk systems. Covid put restauant tech into lightspeed pace. The restaurants that have faired the best were able to make the transitions using tech the fastest. The restaurant tech trend will continue over the next 5-10 years as we’ll see more and more tech integrated into how we eat out. I think we’ll see fewer fine dining establishments, more ghost kitchens and more robot prepared food being ordered from kiosks.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@dopebbq.com
- Website: www.dopebbq.com
- Instagram: @slabbbq
- Facebook: facebook.com/slabbbq
- Twitter: @slab_bbq
Image Credits
Carrin Lewis Photography Marco from Houston Jason Hernandez Marc Suarez
