Young entrepreneur brings Texas-style barbecue to East Gwillimbury
By: Marg. Bruineman, NewmarketToday | Source: NewmarketToday.ca
Benny Slan, who opened his first restaurant at 22, has brought his fresh 'Texas-style barbecue, with a craft smokehouse twist' north.
Having graduated during the pandemic when the world was essentially put on pause, Benny Slan concentrated on his hobby — barbecuing.
“It was COVID time and I couldn’t really find a job,” begins Slan, who recently opened his second Benny’s Barbecue location in East Gwillimbury/Newmarket. “The smoking genre of cooking was a niche I really enjoyed.”
Setting up a system in his parents’ Toronto backyard, Slan developed a technique for smoking meat in the Texas barbecue style for friends and family. After seven months, he decided it was time to launch a full-fledged business.
The meat is smoked daily through a long process, followed by an overnight rest period. Slan says he uses Canadian prime beef for the popular brisket. There are also two types of pork ribs: baby back ribs and St. Louis-cut side ribs. Then there’s turkey breast, which is brined and smoked, as well as pulled pork and house-made sausages.
The meat is smoked daily through a long process of five to 12 hours, followed by an overnight rest period.
At the core, Slan explains, is freshness. Nothing is reheated. And when the food is gone, the store closes.
It was a learning process for both Slan and his customers, with many ups and downs over the 4.5 years at his Toronto location. There was also a commissary business in Aurora, but that closed more than a year ago.
He was then invited to take over retail space at Yonge Street and Green Lane in East Gwillimbury, on the border of Newmarket — an area with which he was familiar through regular trips to the family cottage in the Sutton area and as a new resident of Aurora.
“It was a long, hard thought process and decision,” says Slan, who, over several months, considered the ups and downs of expanding.
The space contrasts dramatically with the Toronto location, a large expanse that had formerly housed a bar.
Bringing in three others integral to the Toronto operation as co-owners for the new location, Slan negotiated the terms for the new unit and then ventured on, opening April 8. The four, each with a different focus area, divide their duties between the two locations.
Jason Rego serves as head pitmaster, Marco So uses a background in butchery to focus on the chemistry of the "smoke ring" and the bark and Kevin Thuan is the floor manager.
The new eatery is a plaza retail unit of about 1,500 square feet with seating for 27 people, but nicely accommodates an indoor smoker. In fact, Benny’s doubled its cooking capacity in Newmarket to accommodate both the eat-in and takeout business.
“Everything is smoked fresh in the morning and when ever we run out of food, we shut down,” says Slan. “We want to have fresh barbecue because that’s what really makes the difference.”
To avoid disappointment, Benny’s puts out word through social media and on the online menu when food or dishes sell out.
Slan draws, somewhat, on family history. His grandfather ran Mr. Green Jeans at the Eaton’s Centre in Toronto for 35 years.
His father, a commercial real estate lawyer, supported Slan’s efforts to launch his barbecue business, helping to negotiate the leases. And Sloan, who is now 26 and living with his fiancée in Aurora, was open to advice.
“I was young and needed help,” says Sloan, “I’ve always been willing to learn.”
The Benny’s team is excited with the opening of the new location, at 200 Green Lane E, building E11, Unit 2, East Gwillimbury, 905-830-9929, and report that early indications suggest it’s becoming a popular destination.