Calhoun’s Restaurant

Calhoun’s customers can peer into the 4,800-square-foot kitchen as staff use smokers, charbroilers, flat tops and ovens to prepare a Southern-influenced menu featuring barbecued ribs and pork sandwiches, steaks, catfish and sides.

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies - December 2005

By Donna Boss
Contributing Editor

After eight years operating successful restaurants in Tennessee, Mike Chase and his team at Copper Cellar Restaurants decided to venture into the world of barbecue. In 1983, they opened the first Calhoun’s in Knoxville. One year later, their baby back pork ribs were voted Best Ribs in America at the national Rib Cook Off, which brought much welcome local and national media attention to the new venture.

Today, the company operates eight Calhoun’s in Tennessee, the newest of which is in Pigeon Forge, located next to the company’s new and second Smoky Mountain Brewery.

According to Curtiss Gibson, corporate chief operating officer, Calhoun’s differentiates itself from the competition by cooking fresh food throughout the day and to-order for both the restaurants and banquet facilities. This keeps with the mission set forth for all Copper Cellar restaurants as it appears on the company’s web site: “Serve simple foods, using the finest quality ingredients, serve guests in a clean, attractive atmosphere and make sure that the guest leaves satisfied.”

Calhoun’s commitment to freshly prepared barbecue ribs, steaks, prime rib, chicken, coleslaw and myriad side dishes is evident to guests through an open kitchen, which comprises nearly half of the restaurant’s 9,600-square-feet. It is visible from most parts of the comfortable 275-seat dining room, which, according to the company’s interior designer Donna Chase, offers customers a “multi-sensory experience” with its wood, stone and granite surfaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, working fireplace and ambient LED lighting.

Among the key pieces of visible equipment are a large wood charbroiler for grilling steaks, ribs, marinated chickens and fresh fish; a flat-top griddle for burgers and pulled barbecue pork sandwiches; and fryers for chicken and chicken tenders, catfish, grouper and fried green tomatoes. “We do all of our breading at a station next to the fryers,” Gibson adds.

On the front line, cold stations are available for each prep area. Hot wells keep barbecue and other sauces warm, while bain maries hold soups made daily.

Further back into the kitchen, two smokers add flavor to ribs, prime ribs and rotisserie chicken. “We placed hoods over the smokers so they don’t have to be placed outside the kitchen,” explains Ned Newell, facilities director.

Also in the back, kitchen staff proof hamburger, sandwich and hoagie buns and bake them in a convection oven. The ovens bake cornbread and biscuits, as well. “We prepare most of our baked goods on-premise, which is another differentiating feature for us,” Gibson reports.

Additional ovens bake signature dishes, such as spinach Maria served in six-ounce ceramic dishes, and baked potatoes. Staff prepare soups daily in a steam kettle.

Throughout the day, staff also prepare creamy country coleslaw, red skin mashed potatoes, baked beans, Calhoun’s signature white chili, salads and baked cinnamon apples.

Most desserts are made on the premises, though others are delivered in a dry or refrigerated state from a nearby commissary. Suppliers deliver ingredients for desserts, steaks, fresh fish and other products in bulk to this USDA-inspected facility, located in Knoxville, where staff then prepare them for whatever the menu requires.

At the Calhoun’s newest location in Pigeon Forge, staff receive the commissary-prepared products and other items at least two or three times a week and place them in one of five walk-in coolers. Meat for hamburgers is ground in the meat cooler for safe food handling.

Throughout the kitchen, Newell says, stations are positioned so staff members can easily see and hear each other. In addition, stations are equipped with shelving and refrigeration and positioned in such a way to minimize the number of steps needed to prepare menu items. Cooks can also move from station to station as needed during peak and slow periods.

Safety and ergonomic considerations are evident throughout the kitchen. According to Newell, stainless-steel walls allow easy cleaning and eliminate the yellowing of walls from smokers. Rubber flooring minimizes noise, slippage and plate breakage. Also for sanitation, all equipment, except the sinks, is mobile and electrical wiring and plumbing are attached to the ceiling so equipment can be easily moved. Computerized remote monitoring of temperatures, lighting and multi-zoned music creates a pleasant work environment. “In addition, we use heat and air systems to dehumidify the kitchen to keep it cooler,” Newell says.

Though the basic kitchen design and E&S package at Pigeon Forge are similar to that at the original Calhoun’s, significant changes were made, such as substituting one-piece, custom-designed chef’s stations with modular units that can be substituted and adjusted for menu flexibility.

As the Calhoun’s group of restaurants continues to expand, a smaller-sized prototype may emerge that will allow greater cost containment and flexibility in different locations. Though the bottom line will be an important factor in the future of this privately-owned company, Gibson and Newell emphasize that compromising the quality of food and the E&S package won’t be an option. “We won’t buy based on price alone,” says Newell, who conducts extensive research on each piece of equipment purchased. “We’ll look for high-quality, durable equipment that will last many years.”