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Visitors travel for a taste of local barbecue
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Charlie Staples at his restaurant
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Charlie Staples
An area restaurant is completing a major expansion despite the economic slowdown.
YOUNGSTOWN — People will drive for good barbecue.
That’s the way Charlie Staples explains the success of Charlie Staples Original Famous Bar-B-Que in a location off the beaten commercial track.
The West Rayen Avenue restaurant sees customers from Canfield, Boardman, and even as far away as Cleveland.
“I find that if you have a good product and you’re not cookie cutter all over the place, people will drive and come to visit you,” Staples said. “That is what we have found, and that is what keeps us going.”
Even with the recent economic downturn, Charlie Staples is seeing a profit, and is only eight to 10 weeks away from opening the doors to a 3,000-square-foot expansion, doubling the current dining and kitchen space, as well as adding a take-out section.
“Fortunately, our volume was as of such that even once we were cut, it didn’t hurt us. We still are operating with a very strong profit,” Staples said. “And so that was the fortunate thing. But yes, it did affect our sales.”
Though he’s in the midst of a huge construction project, Staples isn’t concerned by the economic problems facing many.
“The only way I would be afraid is if I thought people were going to just shut down, all together stop, they’re not going to the movies anymore, they’re not going out to dinner anymore,” he said. “I just don’t believe that. I don’t care how bad it gets, I don’t think that people are just going to dig a hole in the backyard and stick their head down in it.”
In fact, Staples feels the food industry will benefit from the sluggish economy.
While many people will choose not to buy a new car or house, or take a big trip during economic difficulties, they will still go out to eat, he said.
“Because they’re not going to be able to go to Disneyland, they’ll do things they can afford,” Staples said.
Staples and his wife, Marge, opened their first barbecue restaurant – C. Staples – on Belmont Avenue, directly across from their current location, in 1974.
Just three years later, the couple moved to Columbus and opened two more C. Staples. But the South and a different business choice were calling them.
They closed the Columbus locations, found partners to run the Youngstown restaurant and moved to Houston.
In Houston, the Stapleses manufactured and distributed health and beauty aids, while Carl and Emma Young ran C. Staples.
All that changed in 2003, when Emma, who had survived Carl, died. C. Staples closed, but only temporarily.
“Youngstown’s home,” Staples said. “My wife and I were ready to come home.”
So they headed north and purchased the warehouse across from their old C. Staples location. Renovations to the more than 100-year-old structure, including extensive brick work, window replacement and roof work, took about a year, Staples said.
Charlie Staples Bar-B-Que re-opened in May 2005. The 3,000-square-foot restaurant is about 1,300 square feet larger than their previous location. The restaurant employs 22.
The Staples called the new space “Charlie Staples” rather than “C. Staples” because someone else in the area was using the C. Staples name to sell bottled sauce to area stores, Staples said.
“Grocers bought it and put it on shelves because they thought it was the original C. Staples,” Staples said.
Staples bought the recipe to his signature sauce 35 years ago from a man who had been using it for 35 years.
For now, it’s only available for sale at the restaurant, but next year he plans to purchase equipment that will allow the sauce to be made in larger batches. He will then be able to produce enough to market it to stores.