Slows Bar-B-Q to bring dozens of new part-time positions to new Downtown Market location

As owners of the Detroit-based Slows Bar B-Q begin construction on the new Grand Rapids Downtown Market location, over the next few months, they will be hiring as well as building.

Over a dozen new jobs will come to the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids this spring upon the completion of Slows Bar-B-Q’s second location of the full-service barbecue joint, which originally opened in Detroit’s Corktown back in 2005. 

Brian Perrone, executive chef and co-owner of Slows, says without a complete floor design the restaurant can’t pinpoint the number of new employees they will need come spring, but he expects the kitchen alone will require at least a dozen.

“We’ll be looking for bartenders, experienced kitchen and catering people,” he says. “We will probably be hiring some catering servers that will be more of a part-time thing. We’re not really planning on having services but we still need hosts, and ushers and food runners and that kind of thing.”

Perrone says Slows plans to expand their popular Slows-To-Go service, which includes catering, as the brand grows in the southeast side of the Downtown Market. The menu features slow-cooked barbecue staples like brisket, ribs, pulled pork, smoked turkey, and jambalaya and will have several dozen Michigan-based artisan and craft beers on tap, as well. 

“It’s just great to get the brand over (to Grand Rapids),” he says. “It’s great being able to offer the menu that we do, I think that’s going to be huge. I think catering will be a big piece for the business. Just in the Downtown Market alone there is lot of opportunity.”

Perrone says he and Slows co-owners Phillip Cooley, Ron Cooley, and Mike Metevia also want to advance the Slows Bar-B-Q retail line in the future as brand recognition grows in Grand Rapids. 

In the meantime, Perrone thinks Slows Bar-B-Q is exactly where it needs to be in Grand Rapids. 

“I think the downtown market is a really great place for us to be,” he says. “We don’t plan on going anywhere, so we’re looking for a long-term relationship.” 

Slows Bar-B-Q will create an online portal for job seekers in the coming weeks, but Perrone says interested applicants can still check the restaurant’s website for updates on employment opportunities and construction progress or email [email protected]. 

Written by Anya Zentmeyer, Development News Editor
Images courtesy of the Downtown Market