Ethan Whitehill: Hi everyone. I’m Ethan Whitehill, President and Chief Strategy Officer of Crux, the un-agency. Welcome to episode number 24 of To the Point. We produce this monthly podcast to bring you thought-provoking conversations that get to the crux of it and to help entrepreneurial brands fuel growth. Today’s guest is Kelly McGee. Kelly is the CEO and founding partner of Q39, KC’s chef-driven championship barbecue. She and her husband, chef Rob, opened Q39 together in April of 2014. Before becoming a restaurateur, Kelly worked in business development roles for over 10 years and built a solid foundation in sales, marketing and leadership experience. Additionally, Kelly is well-versed in strategic planning across a variety of industries, including retail, e-commerce, hospitality, and nonprofits. Kelly, thanks for joining us today on the podcast. 

 Kelly Magee: It’s super great to be here. 

Ethan Whitehill: Now, Q39 has a pretty fantastic founder story. Would you mind sharing that story with our listeners?  

Kelly Magee: It can be a long story depending how far back you want to go. I married Rob, and I knew his vision was to always open his own business, open his own restaurant, and he is a classically trained chef from the Culinary Institute. And so it was always kind of, “When are we going to do this?” And, you know, you’re getting a little bit older. Opening restaurants is not easy; it takes a lot of energy. So I was kind of pushing on my end. He’s like, “OK, that’s fine. Let’s do this.” And then it’s pulling out all the stops. How are you going to finance this? How are you going to manage through this? And you know, my first question is, “Well, what kind of restaurant are you going to open?” And he was a very big barbecue competitor and he’s like, “Let’s do a barbecue restaurant.” 

And it was a little daunting in my mind because the barbecue market’s pretty crowded in Kansas City, and there’s quite a following [for] each particular one of them. So, I think for me it was all about, “Let’s get going, but what are you going to do differently? How are you going to stand out in the crowd? Or why are you going to have a reason to have one more barbecue restaurant in Kansas City?” So, he felt his competition quality. All of the menu items are going to be made from scratch, fresh, [an] everyday kind of a thing, bringing that level of detail. 

Ethan Whitehill: And I absolutely love that because you’ve created what I would call a challenger brand, and you’re disrupting a market that has been pretty entrenched in some tradition, and you’re doing fantastic. So, talk to us a little bit about what it means to disrupt the barbecue space. 

Kelly Magee: Well, it’s a little daunting because everybody does have their favorites and Kansas City’s extremely passionate about their barbecue. So I think you have to have knowledge and conviction and extreme dedication to your details across the board. But disrupting: Don’t be afraid so long as you know what it is. And [we] went to a lot of different arenas: open kitchen, not a single microwave on the premise, finding all the recipes so that he could make them every meal period fresh and slice those meats. And he had to redo all his recipes. So, he had to retrigger the taste profiles he wanted. How was he going to get those so he could have ’em fresh for every meal period? 

Ethan Whitehill: And that’s what you mean when we say chef-driven? 

Kelly Magee: Exactly. And not just the meat, but his ability to bring fresh new ideas utilizing barbecue meats or smoked meats and other kinds of dishes. So, you can come to Q39 and not order anything barbecue and have a great meal. 

Ethan Whitehill: You mentioned competition, and we talked about championship barbecue. How did that influence Q39? 

Kelly Magee: Well, I think it was actually the inspiration for everything. He did the two main points. He loved the barbecue community and really loved that every weekend he was out there somewhere in the country, going head-to-head with other people who are just as passionate about barbecue. And so, I think bringing that, taking that passion and sharing that with a broader community of guests at a restaurant was very inspiring for him. 

Ethan Whitehill: So, you have a great brand in Kansas City, and you’ve done a wonderful job nurturing it and growing it. And every time I see a celebrity visiting Kansas City, it seems like they’re always getting a picture at Q39. They’re getting their Q39 fix. I’d love to know, number one, what makes a great brand in your mind? And number two, what is it about Q39 that keeps your restaurant top of mind? 

Kelly Magee: Wow, those are great questions. I think there are so many things that make a great brand. I think a clear vision, and a differentiating value proposition. A little bit of lingo there, but how are you different than your competitors? But then over time, that evolves, as well. So, you can start it with one thing, but trends change, and things change, and how do you evolve with that? And so great brands are able to evolve and flex with the times but still stay relevant to their core values. 

Ethan Whitehill: And you stay relevant. We talked a lot about food. It’s not just about the food; it’s also about the experience. So how do you balance experience and food, and what does that look like? 

Kelly Magee: Well, there’s a big restaurateur. They always debate what brings customers back. Is it the food or the service? And you can’t succeed without both being the best long-term. So, we want our guests to feel that we value them every time they come in. That’s super, super important. You have great food, but you’re really not wowed and not made to feel welcome. It’s just not fun. And so, dining out, it should be much more of an experience as far as you’re glad that’s where you went. 

Ethan Whitehill: I’ve noticed this about you, the details matter. So, when you’re planning that experience, you know, the details aren’t the details. The details are the product that you’re selling. I mean, that makes all the difference. So how do you develop that eye? How do you create that awareness? 

Kelly Magee: Well, I think it’s over time and experience, right? You have to enmesh yourself into some of that and surround yourself with people who also have attention to detail because no one person can see all the details. So, you rely on great talent around you to bring that, as well. Because again, you can only be in one place at a time. And when it’s a big operation, there’s lots going on all the time. So, I think that you train your own eyes by listening and observing and being open as well as other people around you will see things. 

Ethan Whitehill: And I mentioned at the top that you have a background in retail, as well. How has that retail experience influenced what you’re doing today? 

Kelly Magee: Well, I love just the day-to-day interacting with customers. And just the joy of sharing products or things that you like with somebody else, they come in your door, and I enjoy that part of it. So, the retail – they’re just kind of one click away from each other. Restaurants are a lot faster paced; the margin for error is much smaller. You only have that one food experience. It’s not like the product, not taking home a shirt or a gift or something to experience later on. Your experience timeframe is much shorter and condensed. So, I think the pressure’s a little higher in the restaurant business. 

Ethan Whitehill: I don’t know if it’s that pressure, but I also know the restaurant business is notorious for turnover. Talent is key to that experience, as well. So how has Q39 managed to build such a great team culture that retains people, and they can develop within the organization? 

Kelly Magee: Yes. Well, one of the very first things: We had our very first orientation with just a few employees, I want to say a couple dozen. And one of the key points that Rob had was we want a team [where] you can rely on the person to the right of you and the left of you, and you’re not going to have to carry their load all the time or compensate for if they’re not quite up to snuff. He’s like, “Everybody has to chip in and be there and give their all.” We’ve taken that and really tried to build programs and things both while they’re there at Q39 and for them personally that help them be at their best at any point in time. So, from employee benefits to all sorts of training things, so that when they come in, they feel proud and knowledgeable about their job, and they’re confident. And then also it’s an experience they’re proud of to invite people and bring their family to and share with everyone when they’re out with their friends. Like, “Yeah, I work for Q39,” and they’re proud of it. 

Ethan Whitehill: I love that inside-out branding kind of perspective. It’s like if you teach your people, you know what the culture is. If they embrace it and they embody it, then they represent that when they go other places. And that’s that brand. They’re sharing that for you. 

Kelly Magee: Well, and that’s been what I think [is] the most exciting thing. Everybody, like family and friends, it’s like, “Yeah, we want more Q39 shirts; we want a ball cap. We want those things.” And that’s great because then it’s something they’re proud to share and enjoy.  

Ethan Whitehill: You said something interesting the last time we spoke, and it’s that no business is successful without its community. And you didn’t mean just the culture within the four walls of Q39, right? Who is Q39’s community, and how do you give back to that community? 

Kelly Magee: Well, I kind of think of community as spheres of influence. It’s just concentric circles expanding outward. I think Q39’s is really the Kansas City community right now. And we broaden that. When you open another location, your circle gets a little bigger. And I think the community itself, you have to build a fan base, and you do that one service at a time, one guest at a time. But once everybody kind of catches on and understands who you are, and you’ve gotten the feedback that this is where we need to go, just giving back to that community and saying, “Thank you for appreciating us and sharing our vision,” and then also how you give back into the community to help make the community stronger. So, whether it’s educational, whether it’s for nonprofit initiatives and things like that, it really is super important. We’ve even expanded that to include our team members. We had them vote for their favorite nonprofit initiatives so they can volunteer and that we could give money to for our 10th anniversary. We did $10,000 and 10 volunteers, minimum to 10 organizations this year. So, we really just threw it all out there to see what fun things we could do. And it’s been really, really rewarding for all of us. 

Ethan Whitehill: That’s wonderful. And I know that there’s another component to this community, too. I would say it’s the competition within your community. It’s the other restaurants where you can compete, but you still support each other, which I think is fascinating. 

Kelly Magee: Right? So, there is no business as hard as the restaurant business, so you’re all kind of frenemies almost. It’s the term, I think, but in a positive way like, “Hey, if you’re struggling with something, and we can help, we’ll do that.” I think there’s always room for good restaurants, and there’s plenty here in Kansas City. There’s always room for more good ones. So, I think I may have shared a story when we were very first opening, and we were getting these jumps in business and traffic that we weren’t expecting. We were able to reach out to other restaurants and we were borrowing, like, “Hey, we ran out of burger buns; we ran out of sandwich bread.” And they would be like, “Sure, come on over and get it.” And so, I think that that’s really, really cool. I know Joe’s KC was kind enough to tell us, “Hey, we’re not open on Sundays.” They would send customers because they were closed over to us. This is early on, [and] we were so appreciative. There’s everybody’s favorite, but there’s room for all of us. So [there’s] always a little competition, but also, we’re all better together. 

Ethan Whitehill: Well, and Kansas City’s such a great entrepreneurial city. Everybody tries to support each other in that way. I’ve noticed that, especially with independent restaurants, too. We have very strong independence. 

Kelly Magee: Well, it’s a foodie town. 

Ethan Whitehill: Yeah. That helps. So, any advice for entrepreneurs who are hesitant to make the leap, as they’re thinking about starting something? 

Kelly Magee: Well, I think that’s the hardest thing. So, lots of us have entrepreneurial notions or ideas from children being, you know, lemonade stands to [when] you get into college, like we have ideas for things. And I think it was Thomas Edison [who said] it’s 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. So, it’s always super hard. But I think the biggest thing is to go ahead and just start and not wait ‘til an idea is actually perfect. Because in today’s day and age, the common lingo, I guess, is fail forward and progress. They’re really key things: Get something out there, get started, and learn quickly and be flexible and adapt. I think that that’s probably the key thing for success in today’s world. 

Ethan Whitehill: Yeah, I think I shared with you before that Apple’s mantra early on was, “Don’t worry, be crappy.” So, they could get to market, and it actually worked for ’em. And they produced a great product, too, but they just didn’t want to obsess over things that didn’t matter. They wanted to just focus on the important things, which is hard because we talked about details. So, what is on the horizon for Q39? What’s next? 

Kelly Magee: Well, we’re super excited. We are hoping to open spring of next year in Lawrence, Kansas. Very excited. My family has a long history with Lawrence, and we love the town, and I think there’s a really great spot in the community for us there and that we can bring something. They don’t have a barbecue restaurant down in that area right now. And I think they’ll certainly enjoy that. And then about six months later we hope to open another place in Lee’s Summit. So, we are very excited about both of those endeavors and looking forward to the challenge. We’re basically doubling the size of our company here in the next 18 months. We’re still early on in our stages of growing. 

Ethan Whitehill: Congratulations. That’s amazing. In addition to locations, I know you also have products on the shelf and grocery.  

Kelly Magee: Yes. This has been an endeavor we worked on for a while, and finding the right distributor to partner with is key to that success. But we are so excited to be in almost a hundred grocery stores in the region. And I love it because first of all, people can readily find a great sauce that’s made with great ingredients and it’s a little more expensive. So, it’s a little tough sometimes to break that barrier in the grocery store market. But the success has been overwhelming. I think the distributor ordered a whole ‘nother order. much sooner than they planned. And they were surprised how quickly it went on shelf and how well it’s going. So, we are super excited because that also helps keep the brand top of mind. When you’re in someone’s refrigerator, that’s pretty awesome. 

Ethan Whitehill: Yeah. Who doesn’t want to bring it home, right? So that brings us to my secret question. I have a 20-sided die. It’s totally random what we come up with. I like this one. This tells me a lot about you. What is your biggest pet peeve? 

Kelly Magee: I think complaining or people who have problems and bring up problems without any ideas or thoughts about solutions. 

Ethan Whitehill: Love that. You know, if you’re going to build a business, you have to be solution-oriented, right?  

Kelly Magee: Yes. And it’s like, that’s great. So what do you think we should do about that? And they look at you like, “Well, that’s not my problem.” Even when you’re out with friends and they just complain. It’s like, no. There are so many sides to that. Let’s look at all the things that are going right.  

Ethan Whitehill: My wife always says, “Don’t curse the darkness. Light a candle.”  

Kelly Magee: Yes, exactly. Exactly. 

Ethan Whitehill: So, Kelly, how can listeners connect with you or learn more about Q39 and probably more importantly, how can they order something? 

Kelly Magee: Great question. Love that. So Q39. We have a website, q39kc.com, and there’s all kinds of information and history and kind of the whole barbecue world that we started in as well as profiles from all of our leaders and executives. But more importantly, you can make a reservation, you can order online to pick up for carry-out. And I’m hoping soon we are going to do delivery. You can get it through Uber and DoorDash. So that’s coming in the next few weeks. 

Ethan Whitehill: I love the sound of that. Yes. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate the conversation. 

Kelly Magee: Thanks for having me. 

Hosted by Ethan Whitehill

Ethan has made a career out of building agencies and growing brands. He founded the firm Two West in 1997, running it as an independent shop for nearly 20 years before combining his firm with an AdAge Top 100 Agency, where he served as CMO. As an agency founder and entrepreneur, Ethan brings a business owner’s mindset to marketing, working on a host of diverse brands, from packaged goods and professional services to hospitality and healthcare.