Will Newman: Why Opening a Restaurant Is Easy Compared to Surviving Year Two

As part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Restaurateur”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Will Newman.

Founder & CEO Will Newman opened Edley’s Bar-B-Que in 2011. As a family owned & operated restaurant, Edley’s Bar-B-Que is a tribute to all things Southern through its soulful atmosphere, low and slow smoked-daily meats and made-in-house sides that are all anchored by one very important thing: community. Today, with three locations in Nashville and one in Chattanooga, Will is proud to be leading Edley’s efforts in putting Music City on the map with its signature original dish: Nashville-Style BBQ, a new technique which gives Nashville its very own barbecue identity.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restaurateur?

I have always been very entrepreneurial. After owning a couple small businesses after college that I sold, I chased my now wife to Birmingham, Alabama from Nashville, Tennessee. For a couple years in Birmingham I was flailing, then decided to escape to go to law school at the University of Alabama. During my second year of law school, the law library is where the idea of a barbecue restaurant in Nashville first entered my conscious. I was reading the Nashville Scene “Best of” magazine, when I stumbled upon yet again a certain barbecue restaurant in Nashville winning best of barbecue. I was born in Memphis and only lived there for a few years but something about being born in Memphis ingrains in your DNA a love and affection for barbecue. As crazy and naïve as it sounds, I thought we could do better than what was currently on the menu in the BBQ Nashville scene. I love Nashville with everything inside of me, and I wanted to bring barbecue to the city that the community could really take pride in. Thankfully, I was able to convince my amazing wife (who was putting me through law school) that being a lawyer was secondary to owning a barbecue restaurant in Nashville.

Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?

The first big impression that drew me to barbecue was when I was seven years old. Our family was visiting Memphis, Tennessee and staying downtown at the Peabody Hotel. One night we walked down the alleyway passed a couple dumpsters, took a left down some dark stairs under a yellow neon sign, and opened a door to an amazing world called The Rendezvous. I loved everything about The Rendezvous in 1985 as a seven-year-old. I loved the sausage and cheese plate, I loved the ribs, and more importantly I loved the vibe that I felt from all the joy and happiness that people were experiencing eating barbecue.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you became a restaurateur? What was the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

One of the most neat and interesting things that we get to experience at Edley’s is serving the really cool celebrities in this town. We have probably dealt with almost everyone in the city and have been able to hang out and see some really fun things. But what makes the city so great is that we let the celebrities be themselves and we think that is why they come back to Edley’s so often. We let them be, it is the Nashville Way.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? How did you overcome this obstacle?

This may sound crazy, but opening a restaurant is not as hard as it sounds. You have so much adrenaline and so much passion that you are able to overcome all the hard work necessary to get the doors open. The real challenge is being open twelve months later. Thankfully, we opened in a time when Nashville was not as hot as it as it is now, so we were able to fly under the radar for a year or so. Opening the second restaurant in Nashville was way harder than the first. The second restaurant exposed all our flaws. It was a very, very trying and challenging time. But after a year we learned the hard way that you must find the most talented team if you want great results. The big lesson is to hire the best people and pay them the best.

In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?

In my opinion, the best dishes are created using simple ingredients from the best sources. Keep it simple and do not overthink it. Our most famous sandwich is the Tuck Special, and it was created by happenstance. Our chef Bret Tuck and I were debating over the best pimento cheese recipe because we planned to put it on our brisket. One morning before we opened, Bret created his mom’s pimento cheese and put it on the brisket, and since it was still morning, he put a fried egg on top. The simple ingredient of the fried egg made the sandwich unbelievable. It has even won Best Sandwich in Nashville.

Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal for you’?

I am a simple man. My favorite meal is a ribeye that I grill at my house with fresh vegetables that I share with good friends.

Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?

I need to find peace and quiet to get my creative juices going. Typically, it comes from being away from the restaurant, and either reading a book or listening to a podcast. Downtime is crucial because I have found that sometimes the harder you try to work, the harder it is to be creative.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?

Recently, we went through the process of creating a smash burger with locally sourced dry-aged meat. We worked very hard to keep it simple but keeping it simple usually makes it harder to dial in the final product. We are very excited about it; it is now a featured item for us on Thursdays.

What advice would you give to other restaurateurs to thrive and avoid burnout?

To avoid burnout, it is so important to remember that you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. You must be surrounded by an amazing team who can help fulfill your vision. You cannot be both the visionary and the integrator. You must have a strong number two.

Thank you for all that. Now we are ready for the main question of the interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Restaurateur” and why? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Perfection is the enemy of good.

2. If you do not occasionally fail, you are not trying hard enough.

3. The obstacle is the way. Do not let obstacles stop you, plow through them.

4. Always say yes to your community.

5. Most importantly, write down your core values. Use them for every decision and never compromise them.

What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?

People must try our Nashville-style barbecue. Think Nashville hot chicken meets smoked pork.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Something I am very excited about that we are doing at Edley’s, is that we are investing in a program to give our teams the tools and resources to build upon financial literacy. We think that if our teams learn and understand the importance of understanding their finances, credit scores, and the fine print of credit cards, we believe that we can fundamentally change our team members lives. In my opinion, giving people the tools and resources to grow their financial literacy can be the most profound and impactful thing we ever do.

Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!