Meet Chad and Angie Smith of Rednexican

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad and Angie Smith.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Chad and Angie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My family has been in the restaurant business (The Redneck Gourmet) since I graduated from Newnan High School in 1990. I went off to Georgia Southern to earn a degree in Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional administration with a minor in Business. I work in several restaurants in Statesboro with longtime friend Trey Britt. After school I moved back to Newnan working with family and other business ventures until about 4 years ago some friends of mine were on our annual scalloping trip to Port St. Joe in Florida and we had been scalloping all day and couldn’t decide on where to eat for dinner, half of us wanted BBQ and the other half wanted Mexican, we settled on a great small seafood restaurant called The Indian Pass Raw bar.

Over great food and lots of beers we worked on a menu and the BBQ/Mexican Fusion idea came to life on a napkin. We all agreed everyone likes BBQ and Mexican food so why not do both. Once back in Newnan we started on a name, one of my friends Martin Smith was joking around with another good friend David Van Drew and said hey you brother is a Redneck and his wife is of Mexican nationality so your nephew would be a RedNexican so the name was born. We had a few parts with me trying new menu items and the concept was born. We wanted to focus on southern BBQ meats with great sauces and cheese with a Mexican flair, no beans or rice as fillers. After 2-3 months we had a menu and opened up, and we have never looked back.

Has it been a smooth road?
Coming from a small town with the growth towards the interstate we struggled a bit. It seemed like we couldn’t reach people on the other side of interstate 85 to come to downtown, just the original movie The Cars. We didn’t have it in our budget to advertise so I decided since we were in downtown Newnan I would feed the city fire departments on a rotation every Wednesday. We have 3 with fire stations so 1 station every Wednesday and I told them I wanted them to advertise for me. After about 2 months we started getting busier and busier and from then on, we have never paid for advertising we just feed the Firemen and use Facebook.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Rednexican story. Tell us more about the business.
At Rednexican we specializing in great service with amazing food. We strive to know every customer and we want them to have a great experience eating with great food. I designed the kitchen like a Waffle House so while I’m working rolling burritos and making tacos I get to speak to every customer and want them to feel welcomed and like family. Some people say it’s the “Cheers” of Newnan. We also have my wife and my sister in law working so we always have a family member working. Other than the service which sets us apart we also strive to use the best ingredients. We make all of our sides which are Brunswick stew, collard greens, BBQ pinto beans, grandmas Mac and cheese also with fresh guacamole, pico, black beans and corn salsa and of course queso. One of the favorites is the Bubbarito which is a burrito with shredded gouda cheese blend, pico, lettuce, ancho chipotle sauce and your choice of meat-Brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, coneca sausage, group beef or a vegetarian black bean burger. We have burritos, tacos-corn or flour, salads and quesadillas that you add your choice of meat to. Other favorites are the Cubarito-sausage, pork, pickles cheese and ancho sauce, it’s a Mexican Cuban sandwich in a burrito. We also have the Mexican-Mac which is a quesadilla with Mac and cheese and your choice of meat, the Soul -a collard green quesadilla and you add your meat. We have two things on Texas toast a Reuben-brisket, cheese and BBQ marinated kraut and the Chupacabra- cheese, pork and white lightening (a mayo based BBQ sauce). We are a family run business that believes in great food, great service with a family atmosphere. We also have shrimp, cod and mahi-mahi tacos or burritos.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Looks like with the labor market getting tougher to find good help, and more and more fast food franchises flooding the market, you better have a niche and service better be number one for you. If you can’t keep repeat customers coming back then it’s an uphill battle for you. Seems like people are eating things that are fresh and healthier.