New partnerships and big news for Detroit's Slows Bar BQ

There's a bit of a shake-up in ownership at popular Detroit barbecue restaurant Slows — which has served mouthwatering and nationally recognized barbecue, smoked meat sandwiches, mac and cheese and more in the city for 18 years — and a lot of movement for the brand in the year to come.

Slow's founding chef Brian Perrone, managing director Terry Perrone and catering director Josh Keillor have formed Slows Holdings. Former partners Ron, Ryan and Philip Cooley have sold their shares of the business to Slows Holdings, but retain ownership of the restaurant's building at 2138 Michigan in Corktown and Slows To Go at 4107 Cass in Midtown. Slows plans to be tenants of both buildings for the long term.

The Perrones and Keillor, who have been the operating end of the Slows group for several years, have formed a new partnership with New York's fast-casual barbecue company Mighty Quinn's Barbeque, which has multiple locations in New York and New Jersey, and one in Florida and Dubai.

The Slows guys were introduced to Mighty Quinn's by advisor Ross Pascal, who has a background in restaurants and the food industry. They plan to "lean into" the expertise of Mighty Quinn's team.

"They're very creative in how they operate," said Terry Perrone of the Mighty Quinn's brand. "They've got corporately owned stores, they've done some franchising, they do concessions, they have a retail line ... so a lot of the same kind of stuff we do, but they've done a lot more of it.

"They are looking to figure out ways to get a toehold in markets where maybe the Mighty Quinn brand doesn't resonate, but maybe there's partnerships that can be done with a brand that does. They came to town and we just hit it off," he said, adding that the Mighty Quinn's story started with a smoker at a farmers market in Brooklyn while Slows started with chef Brian cooking outside with a smoker during Detroit's St. Patrick's Parade. "It's pretty similar ... we've done a lot of the same kind of stuff."

What this means for the Slows brand is all good things, and not much that the average Metro Detroit Slows fan will notice, aside from some new menu items and the addition of a second food truck, which should be ready in time for outdoor party season. Slows is hiring now for a variety of positions, including cooks, front of house, event staff and food truck workers.

Chef Perrone has plans to tweak the menu at the Corktown restaurant to better suit the community as things evolve with Ford Motor Co.'s renovation at the Michigan Central Depot and other developments.

"There's some new appetizers that I'm working on, a couple of sandwiches and we're also looking at some combo meals that will include a few sides, stuff that we used to do a little bit more," said Perrone. "It's going to look like a menu overhaul, but it will just be more diner-friendly with some new options."

"We want to be as user-friendly as possible but we also know that it's time to change things up a bit" he said, adding that they are also looking at bringing back some old Slows favorites. "We shrank the menu a lot with COVID, just because of necessity, and now that we're through that and preparing to grow we want to change the format a little bit, freshen it up."

This new ownership structure and partnership also puts Slows in a better position to add locations.

"That strategy is coming together," said Terry. "Yes, you'll be looking at more Slows locations, that's absolutely one of the goals of us taking control of the business is to grow it."

Through Slows' catering arm and food truck business, they've been able to identify the Metro Detroit neighborhoods that may benefit best from a Slows restaurant.

"We known where our fans are, so we're starting in those communities and kind of kicking tires and seeing what's available," Terry said, adding that it's still premature to name any cities. "But, yeah, we're fortunate to have kind of a heat map, if you will, of places where people ask for us repeatedly."

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mbaetens@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @melodybaetens