Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: Success fosters more success

02/07/2010
Source: Tom Caprood / The Record

SYRACUSE — Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has become a household name across the state, as well as the country, but few may realize the economic impact that success has fostered in the home of the company’s first restaurant.

Located a few blocks from the heart of the city’s downtown, the original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has become not only a popular local restaurant, but a dining destination which people will travel from far and wide to experience.

Restaurant owner John Stage opened the location in 1988 after spending five years on the road feeding bikers at various events and festivals along the east coast. After making his way south and tasting slow-cooked barbecue, he realized there was a lot more to learn and has been honing his craft ever since, expanding into Rochester, New York City and a future spot in Troy along the way.

Beth Savicki, communications manager for the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, said that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que had truly left its mark on the city. “It would be harder to find something that wasn’t impacted by Dinosaur,” said Savicki, noting that while Syracuse locals don’t necessarily eat there all the time, they know that there is always a good meal to be had at the restaurant.

Benjamin Sio, the chamber’s director of economic development, said that the city’s downtown was currently experiencing a bit of revitalization in areas like Armory Square, situated a few blocks away from Dinosaur, where independent business owners and entrepreneurs have started their own retail outfits.

“I think one of the reasons everybody thought that downtown might be a good location to open your own restaurant is through the success of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que,” said Sio. “I think Dinosaur is the silver bullet for a lot of places. In my experience in dealing with businesses, we haven’t seen anything as successful.”

The restaurant’s location may not be the most conventional, located amidst a series of office buildings, but that has been no barrier to its success, especially on weekdays when office workers may come down in groups of eight or ten at a time for lunch.

“Quite honestly, there’s no parking, but it doesn’t make a difference,” said Savicki. “You still go. It was 10 below on Saturday with the wind chill and we hiked from the (Onondaga County) War Memorial. You do it for Wango Tango Wings.”

Danica Bryant, communications manager for the Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the restaurant was a definite draw when attracting people to the city. “It’s nice from a tourism perspective because we have something to promote about Syracuse all year long,” said Bryant. “It doesn’t matter what time of year it is.”

Bryant said that every time a travel writer comes to the city, her office makes sure to include Dinosaur on any kind of promotional material. In fact, she noted that Peter Greenberg, who now works as the travel editor for CBS News, came to the city for one of his assignments last year because he loved the restaurant.

“Without Dinosaur, we could almost definitely see a dip in our tourism,” said Sio.

Then there’s the simple fact that the restaurant draws thousands of Syracuse University students off their campus and into downtown on a regular basis. Sio noted that was something the city would like to see increase through the development of a proposed connective corridor to provide a safe, friendly walking connection between the campus and the heart of the city.

Bryant also recalled how last May, when Dinosaur was voted as having the best barbecue in the nation by viewers of “Good Morning America,” the restaurant did not go out of its way to flaunt the fact on its Web site or in advertisements.

“They don’t really even need to do that,” said Bryant. “Their food and experience speaks for themselves.”

Even though they have the original restaurant in their backyard, the Syracuse officials had also heard of Dinosaur’s plans to expand to a property along the Hudson River in Troy.

While some Troy residents raised initial opposition to the fact the company received incentives such as a Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes agreement, Sio said officials made the right choice in attracting the restaurant.

“From a downtown development-type person, that’s a great investment,” said Sio, noting 90 percent of independent-run businesses typically fail in their first few years. “Out of the thousands of restaurants that open, that are independently owned, you get one like Dinosaur.”

Savicki even pointed out that her brother-in-law, who owns The Dublin Underground on South Pearl Street in Albany, was excited about the impact Dinosaur coming to Troy would have on his business across the Hudson River.

“Troy should be excited,” said Bryant.

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