Grilling Up a Great Career
Navy cook makes tasty transition to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.
By Warren Duffie
The phone rang at 0500, jolting Mark Adams from a deep sleep. Groggily picking up the receiver, Adams listened as another manager at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que asked him to open the restaurant. There was an accident and traffic snarled the roads, preventing him from arriving on time.
“I had worked the closing shift and got home at 0300. I was tired, but I knew my job needed me,” said Adams. “So I slept for another hour, got up, and went back to work. As a military veteran, I’m used to doing what it takes to get the job done. That’s why civilian employers love to hire us.”
On The Job
Such leadership and dedication define the work philosophy of this former Navy chief petty officer. Adams, 41, is a smokehouse manager at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, one of New York’s most popular barbecue chains. Based at the Rochester location, Adams oversees a kitchen staff of up to 16 cooks, ensuring customers enjoy first-class food.
“We’re very popular throughout the Rochester area,” he said. “In addition to the restaurant, we have a profitable catering business that does everything from corporate events and parties to high school and college graduations. “We serve wonderful beef brisket and pulled chicken and pork, but our hottest seller is our ribs,” he continued. “We sell between 300 and 500 racks of ribs a day, and we seat around 1,000 to 1,500 customers.” The former Navy cook works a 10-hour shift. If he’s scheduled to close, for example, he arrives to the restaurant at 1500 and checks what types of meats are in the barbecue smoker. He meets with the manager he’s relieving to discuss the day’s best-selling dishes and re-stocks the smoker, focusing heavily on those celebrated ribs. Adams also monitors cooking supplies and ingredients and replenishes the smoker for the morning manager. “Another important part of my job is tasting our side dishes – macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes – before they go out,” he said. “We make everything fresh, everything from scratch. That’s an area where my military background helps. I know how to lead and work with a team that’s very diverse but working toward a common goal.”
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Quick Stats
Company: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Founded: 1988
Headquarters: Syracuse, N.Y.
Web site: www.dinosaurbarbque.com
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The Company
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que was started in 1983 by three bikers. Bound by a love of good food, a 55-gallon drum sliced in half and severe wanderlust, the trio rumbled along the East Coast – slinging barbecue at motorcycles, fairs and festivals. Finally settling down in 1988, they opened a takeout joint in Syracuse. Over the years, they added a full bar and wait staff and expanded to Rochester and Harlem.
The restaurant markets its sauce, pulled pork, chili and baked beans at local supermarkets. In 2001 they released a cookbook titled “Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse.” “It’s a fantastic place to work,” said Adams. “We’re basically a fun, honkey-tonk rib joint. The ambiance is very relaxed and friendly. We also have blues musicians from around the world perform live nightly. “The benefits are good,” he continued. “We receive medical, dental, life insurance and 401(k). I still use my military health and dental plans and bank with Navy Federal.”
Transition Out
Adams stayed in the Navy until 2008. His youngest daughter was about to start high school and he didn’t want her to move around like her older sister. Although he attended transition classes, his job search was difficult. Most places seeking cooks or restaurant managers wanted to fill the positions immediately and were unwilling to accommodate the separation process.
Adams and his family settled in Rochester, N.Y., when he received a call from a manager with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: “He called my house around 2000 and was online looking at my professional profile on LinkedIn. He was a 20-year Army vet and was willing to take a chance on me since he knew what a Navy chief, a senior enlisted person, could do.
Acclamation
“My first day on the job was nerve-wracking,” he continued. “It was summer – graduation time – an extremely busy time for catering. There were about 40 people in the kitchen and I felt like I was in the way. But after a couple of months, I was totally comfortable.”
So which does he like better? Preparing Navy chow or grilling up barbecue? “I do like working in an institutional setting like the military,” he said. “You see the same people daily and get to know their likes and dislikes. But people really love barbecue. When customers, young or old, come into my restaurant, they always have big smiles on their faces. That’s very rewarding.”
The Adams File
Highest Rank Held: Chief Petty Officer (E-7) Experience: 22 years, U.S. Navy
Training: Lithograph training, USS Acadia
Culinary training, Naval Base San Diego and Naval Station Norfolk
Chronological Résumé
2008 – Present: Smokehouse Manager, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
1986 – 2008: U.S. Navy Served on USS Acadia, USS Richard B. Russell, USS Georgia, USS Los Angeles, USS Olympia, and in Italy and Maryland.
Adams' Advice
Do your reconnaissance. “The night before my interview at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, I took my wife there for dinner to see if it was a place I wanted to work at. Look into your potential company. Remember, you’re going to be associated with it, so you want it to be respectable.”
Get on the LinkedIn professional networking website. “A lot of employers check this site. You never know who might contact you.”
Be smart with your cash. “If you’re planning on buying a house, base your payments on your current salary, not on what you’ll think you’ll be making. With the economy the way it is, no civilian job is certain.”
What Adams Likes About His Job
• I love barbecue.
• The work environment is fun and friendly.
• I enjoy interacting with my co-workers and customers