We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Roscoe Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Roscoe , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made?

I think the best investment I have ever made as a business owner and throughout my career is in people. I have what I like to call a servants heart. Because of that I am so fulfilled when I get the opportunity to invest in people and help them. I don’t wanna fix everybody, but I have had such a wonderful time in helping people. I have had so many people that have worked for me that I have been able to pour into and help them in life, personal issues, careers, life advice etc. People make mistakes and deserve second chances. In my life God has shown me grace from so many mistakes that I have made so who am I not to show grace to others. I believe that is what he wants us to do, not judge each other. I also feel like by embracing this philosophy is the reason why I have so many long term employees. The best advice I can give anyone who is a business owner, manager, supervisor or anything of the like…see your people who work for you as people and treat them accordingly! If your peers and subordinates know that you will run through a wall for them, they will do the same for you and that makes everyone’s job a lot easier.

Roscoe , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have a background in food service for 25 years. I received my degree from Missouri State University in Hospitality and Restaurant Administration in 1997. From there, I worked in several different types of restaurants from Fast food to Full Service. I have opened restaurants from the ground up and wrote menus, created recipes etc. My passion has always been food and people. I didn’t really know it or understand it until my 30’s, but it was always there. It was all in preparation for being a restaurant owner. I think about what we have done over the past 3 years with Knuckle Sandwiches and I am so proud that we can deliver a high quality product to our guests that can be inticing, tantalizing and nostalgic. Everyone loves sandwiches, but we make sandwiches like you make the day after Thanksgiving. We cook all of our meats in house and have fresh bread baked and delivered to the restaurant daily! Yes, its all fresh. No processed deli meats. e cook meats, sauces, desserts, deli salads, and most everything we serve from scratch. I am so proud that we can keep making this high quality food and we can keep coming up with creative and delicious items to offer our guests. I am a Chicago native which is a great food town. I think you can taste Chicago in our food. We have dine in and take out as well as delivery through our website and 3rd party delivery apps and we also Cater. www.knucklesandwichesaz.com to see what we do!

Have you ever had to pivot?

What brought me to Arizona was I bought a franchise of a national chain. I was a franchisee for 5 years with them and things didn’t go so well. We made strides because the reputation of the location that I bought had been dragged through the mud! I tried so hard for 5 years to make it successful, but I feel the concept lost the pulse of the public. I was so discouraged. We struggled financially and was underfunded in even taking on this endeavor. Then through a conversation with a friend, I was informed that my current franchise agreement at the time was going to expire in less than 3 months. At that point, I became inspired and after talking with my wife and my managers, we decided we were going to do something different and better. Now was my chance to see if all of the things I felt were being done wrong by the franchise company I was a part of, could be done better. So we set out to create a better sandwich shop! We changed everything, redecorated, wrote a new menu, came up with new processes, recipes and procedures and the community, I cant say enough about them! The people who I had met over the last 5 years were the first ones in the doors when we opened and they loved it! And they told people! And they brought people! I was so humbled to see those people loving their food and supporting us so faithfully and most of all, coming to see if I was ok and what happened.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Be approachable, stay humble, be human and be kind! There is no need to be nasty towards anyone. There is a way to say anything and get your point across. Practice being stern with people without being mean. Communication is becoming a lost art.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.knucklesandwichesaz.com
• Instagram: knuckle_sandwiches.az ; knuckle_sandwiches.tempe
• Facebook: Knuckle Sandwiches-Mesa; knuckle sandwiches.tempe
• Twitter: @knucklesmesa; @tempeknuckles
• Yelp: Knuckle Sandwiches