By TOM GERROW
BG Independent News
Local chef Larry Johnson, and his business partner Mike Drane, are now serving home-style cooking to Bowling Green at Grub Guys on East Wooster. Johnson says the idea was to make made-from-scratch food, but to make it in a quick-serve setting that combines restaurant quality with fast-food convenience.
“When it comes to the food game, you either have fast food or you have sit-down restaurants with long wait times,” Johnson said. “I wanted to do something for families and for people on the go so people can grab good food for themselves and move about their day.”
“Being able to make food from scratch and serve it in a fast and convenient way was the whole idea,” he said.
The restaurant is designed for pick-up or delivery, and diners can order online.
“Larry’s been talking about opening up something for probably 15 years,” said Drane. “So, I’ve been a part of those brainstorming operations and just let him talk through it.”
As the concept for Grub Guys began to take shape more fully, and Johnson began looking for investors, Drane initially passed on the opportunity.
“I had a lot going on myself and I just wanted to see how far he was going to be able to get [through] his own resourcefulness,” Drane said. Drane suggested that Johnson look to the book “The Power of Broke” by Shark Tank star Daymond John, which proposes that limited resources and funding can spark more ingenuity and innovation.
“Mike recommended a lot of books but I didn’t get into ‘The Power of Broke’ until right before Grub Guys reached the finish line,” Johnson said. Also on Johnson’s bookshelf were “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” “The Millionaire Next Door,” and “The Intelligent Investor.” The books led Johnson to do a complete money makeover so he could reach his dream.
“Everything I’ve learned has gone into the process and vision of this business,” Johnson said. “What we have done so far is just the beginning. Probably the biggest lesson I learned from my study is patience and persistence.”
As the time was nearing to launch the business, Drane circled back to check on Johnson’s progress. “I saw the place and we talked through all the things he had done, just kind of the nuts and bolts of the business,” Drane said. “And I was really impressed by what he had done so far.”
But as often happens, there were a few last-minute hiccups in Johnson’s launch plan – and that’s when Drane saw an opportunity to get involved and decided to become an investor in Grub Guys. Though Drane spent nearly two decades in the hospitality industry, and knows Bowling Green’s restaurant scene well, he is currently working in management as director of retail at Verizon Wireless. This management experience gives him a more strategic role in Grub Guys, with Johnson managing day-to-day operations.
The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting for Grub Guys on Sept. 14 at 4 p.m., but there’s no need to wait on ceremony – Grub Guys has been serving their home-style food since early July. The soft launch was deliberate so Johnson could work out the kitchen routines and processes needed to get the restaurant running smoothly.
Johnson says his favorite bowl is the Pulled Pork and Mac Bowl, but he also thinks people should get to know his Cheeseburger Bowl: ground beef, lettuce, tomato and onion, and a little bit of burger sauce along with fried waffle fries and cheese sauce.
“You can kind of call it an American nacho almost,” Johnson said.
There are other specialty bowls, or diners can build their own bowl, choosing a base, a protein, sauce and additional toppings.
In his 30-year culinary career, Johnson has worked at several area restaurants, including the Hilton Garden Inn and Toledo Country Club, and most recently at Nazareth Hall in Grand Rapids. But now he is running his own kitchen in Bowling Green.
“The other big mission for me was I wanted to bring something different to BG,” Johnson says. “We have pizza, we have subs, we have wings, we have Mexican all day. I am not knocking any of those guys. All great choices. But for a long time, I have grown tired of eating those same things over and over again. I wanted to bring something different with the same speed and capacity as those guys.”
Grub Guys
215 E. Wooster St., Suite 2
Bowling Green, OH
Hours:
Monday closed
Tuesday-Wednesday 4-10 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday 4 p.m.-3 a.m.
Sunday 2-10 p.m.
