We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cathy Howell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cathy below.
Cathy, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents are amazing people, but I would be doing the rest of my family a disservice by not including them, since for better or worse, we are a package deal. While we didn’t always get along, and occasionally I referred to them as an invasive colony of fire ants, I knew that I was always loved. That type of unconditional love tends to make a person fearless, especially knowing there is always a safety net to keep you from crashing too hard when you fail. A couple years into owning The Wicked Sister, I was asked by a catering guru what was my driving force in this industry. What was my why? The reason that I kept getting up in the morning and going back to work each day, even when it felt really hard. I replied with having a flexible schedule, the joy of owning my own business…all the reasons why I enjoyed my job, but as Mr. Elam pointed out, that wasn’t my why.
That question without an answer bothered me for a long time, as questions without answers tend to do. A couple years ago, someone told me that I was telling the kitchen table story and while they were referring to a completely different concept, a lot of things fell into place with that simple phrase. Suddenly, I realized my why. Thanks to my parents and entire family, I had been raised with the spirit of hospitality engrained deep into my bones.
I grew up in a large, close-knit family; the kind where roots run deep. We lived next door to my maternal grandparents with my mom’s siblings and their spouses close by. My children are the 6th generation to live on the property that was homesteaded by their great, great, great, great grandparents. We spent a lot of time with my dad’s parents and siblings, too. Between the two families, there are twenty-one grandchildren. And there’s less than four years of age that separates me from nine of my cousins: To say we ran like a pack of dogs is an understatement.
I literally grew up around the kitchen tables of grandparents, parents, aunts & uncles…listening to their memories and experiences. Stories from my grandpa that could make me laugh until I cried, or stories so heartbreaking you did everything you could to not cry. At these tables, there was always delicious, homemade meals and room for anyone who happened to stop by or needed a place to go for holidays. It was around these tables, surrounded by family and friends, that my why was shaped and molded from all the love and support given by those sitting in the chairs around the table.
Today, most of my cousins have moved away and have their own families. My brother and his family don’t live in the area. However, the love, support and sense of place that came from those kitchen tables are evident when you walk into The Wicked Sister. I have an amazing crew of people whom I cannot think of a better group of people to spend so much time with. They make me laugh. They lift me up. We make things work even when it’s ugly and we can only do the best we can do that day.
Our guests – the regulars that still come out to support us when it’s -10 degrees outside – are like family, too. They come to us to celebrate special occasions or when they’re having a bad day and don’t want to dine alone. It’s not uncommon for incoming guests to be greeted by whoever is sitting at the end of the bar and hear, “Welcome in! Have a seat wherever you like!” Wicked’s culture is pervasive, and it makes my heart sing.
At 16 I knew two things: I wanted to own my own restaurant at some point in my life and I threatened my mother with writing a “tell all” book about our family. She has been terrified of both since that day. This certainly isn’t a book; however, the “tell all” that I threatened at 16, probably looks a little different to both of us 25 years later. I know that I couldn’t do what I do without the love and support of my parents and family. For so long, I didn’t know why I was drawn to the restaurant industry. The kitchen table story helped me realize that my family’s love and encouragement is responsible for how I am today.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My very first job, outside of babysitting, was working at The Antlers Restaurant when I was 14 years old. The restaurant industry was my first and has been my longest lasting love. In Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain did an exceptional job of describing the rush that comes from working in a restaurant. Restaurant work is certainly not for everyone, and trust me, if it were easy, we wouldn’t be habitually understaffed. There is something special that comes from the chaos on a busy night, something special that comes from the camaraderie of enduring these nights. The story behind The Wicked Sister coming to fruition all started when my 80 year old grandpa bought the grossest, seediest bar in town at an auction…While I was eight months pregnant with my youngest child. Despite referring to his purchase as the farmer’s foley, he gifted the bar to his three daughters (my mom and two aunts) and paid for the renovations which were necessary to lift the business from Ewwww to Ohhhh. I left a serving job of nine years to be their general manager. In the end, the sisters didn’t love the restaurant industry as much as I did so I bought the business from them in 2016, a year after opening The Wicked Sister.
The Wicked Sister started with burgers, craft beer and some elevated bar food. In 2020 I hired an incredibly talented kitchen manager/executive chef that has catapulted our menu into something that still blows my mind. She has a knack for putting unique spins on classic comfort food and creating these amazing, craveable dishes. A couple months ago she came up with a Crab Ragoon Dip – which let’s be honest, the filling is the best part of the ragoon – served with fried wonton chips which quickly became a house favorite.
On top of made from scratch, unique meals, we also do quite a bit of catering which is frequently a challenge due our limitations with space. Our biggest catering jobs tend to be an hour or more away – often involving boats – so we need to use quite a bit of science to make sure the food stays safe and delicious during transporting. I’m also working on a little side hustle – having our signature BBQ sauce – produced in a facility that will allow for retail and wholesale distribution.
I’m sure we solve more problems than we create, but if you’ve ever fallen victim to the Panty Dropper – a house cocktail that’s built like a Long Island Iced Tea but tastes like fruit punch – you might feel differently. Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, I’m so glad to be a part of the community and sponsor several youth & adult sports teams to help provide healthy, fun opportunities for people.
A huge point of pride is taking the grossest bar in town and turning it into a destination for foodies, as well as a gathering spot for friends to enjoy spending time together (with the help of family, of course). Personally, I’m also incredibly proud of turning a passion into an actual career that pays the bills and usually brings me joy.
What do I want people to know? We’re gearing up for the most hectic three months of the year so I’m trying not to be jaded lol. In the kindest way possible, I want people to know how hard my amazing crew works day in, day out. That without these fantastic people, there wouldn’t be a Wicked Sister. These are the folks behind the delicious food, the remarkable service and everything you will love about The Wicked Sister!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivoting I’m going to take the low-hanging fruit on this one and call out the pivots The Wicked Sister needed to make during COVID-19. I found out with the rest of Michigan that dining rooms would be closed on March 16, 2020 at 3pm for no less than two weeks. This information was put out at 8am on March 16, 2020. Given the situation, I can’t say I was shocked; however, I did think we would have more time to make plans.
With a staff of twenty-five facing unemployment and thousands of dollars of perishable product in inventory, I couldn’t fathom just giving up. It took a few hours and more than a few phone calls, but as a group we decided to give delivery and carry out a try. My servers became delivery drivers and order packers. The kitchen was tasked with keeping track of what item was in what box. It was every bit as chaotic as it sounds. Then we added online ordering and the natural throttle created from having one phone line was gone. Whatever grasp we had on the chaos was completely eviscerated and we spent several weeks learning to manage the new volume of orders coming in.
During all of this, I had to learn to actually read reports and figure out what our costs looked like and where we could tweak to help offset soaring inflation. I had to learn how to be a business owner, and not just the passive figure head I was prior to 2020. With the help of our food rep and other trusted individuals, we were able to get lean on our P&L.
With delivery under control and a loose grasp on our costs (seriously, burger got so high that I almost cried every time we sold one because I’m pretty sure we lost money), we started to thrive in our new world. We set up Wicked-Mart during the holidays and sold branded merchandise, in addition to higher-end wines, beer and customizable charcuterie kits. We started using our Oktober canner to sell pint cans of our house made Bloody Mary and Bloody Caesar mixes.
I can still feel my lips tingle as the stress of the morning on March 16 settled into my psyche. I often equate the entire experience of running a business during a global pandemic to the experience of running as fast as you can toward a 100’ cliff because something is chasing you and you can either stop and surely die, or you can jump and see how far you can make it down. As things started to settle down, one of the hardest things to comprehend is how we jumped from the cliff and landed with only a stubbed toe.
After 400+ days under closures or capacity restrictions, things started to return somewhat to normal. I had assumed that we would discontinue delivery when the mandates ended; however, delivery continues to be a large revenue stream for us so we’ve continued to offer the service. Without a doubt, I am a better business owner today for having to look hard at numbers and learn how to actually manage the business. For any business owner who is afraid to pivot or afraid of the new challenges that will come from pivoting, all I can say is DO IT! Make a general plan and just do it, I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Marketing Risk – LTO’s and giving Kat & Crew room to play
The first menu of The Wicked Sister was primarily burgers and craft beer. We offered salads, but mostly because we had most of the salad ingredients that were being repurposed into burger/sandwich toppings. We sold so few salads that I changed the name of the category to the 4% Club because only 4% of our food sales were from soup & salads.
There was a clear demand for knife & fork plates (besides salads), but we struggled to execute entrees to do our space and staff abilities. We’d plan special menus or limited time menus, but they were difficult to produce…again, due to space and staff constraints.
Then I hired a 21-year-old kitchen manager. Kat had been a line cook for a little over a year before I was able to allocate the funds for an actual manager. The position was posted both internally and externally, all were encouraged to apply. We had several outside applications come in and one internal application. There were a few employees that were more than qualified for the position and I knew that each would bring specific skills and talents. I dreaded the day that all three applied because I couldn’t fathom how to select just one while still keeping the peace.
As it turned out, Kat was the only one who applied internally and was the only person I interviewed. A few years have passed since she was offered the job and I can tell you several things –
1. I thought I knew what I was getting when I hired an incredibly young KM…and I was so wrong. She leads with confidence and integrity – skills that many “industry professionals” do not exhibit with the same proficiency.
2. In a few short months, Kat was able to lift kitchen morale while holding everyone to higher expectations. She is patient and a skilled teacher, as well.
3. I quickly learned that she is one of the most talented chefs in Michigan, creating a large range of memorable dishes from limited time features to curated menus for special events and everything in between.
For the past year, Kat and her crew have been responsible for generating dishes for our Latest & Greatest Menu which changes every six to eight weeks. This involves creating recipes, training, ordering and a general plan for prep and execution – no small fete for sure! This particular menu, which is available in addition to Wicked’s core menu, usually accounts for 25% of our overall food sales.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wickedsistersault.com
- Instagram: thewickedsister716
- Facebook: TheWickedSisterSSM
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wicked-sister-sault-ste-marie-3?osq=the+wicked+sister
Image Credits
Phil Eich (first two photos only)