Ravanelli’s restaurateur expands tastes to barbecue

Steve Edwards is a fan of many tastes. That’s why the restaurateur decided to expand his fledgling barbecue eatery into a second location, where he was already running another restaurant. Last month, Edwards and business partner Terry Ravanelli decided to convert their Ravanelli’s Restaurant in O’Fallon into Edwards’ second Fire-N-Smoke Wood-Fired Kitchen, after having opened his first in Troy last November. He invited business writer Will Buss to the new restaurant to talk about his move toward barbecue:

What can local diners find at your new restaurant?

“Well this is primarily a barbecue restaurant, but we do have gourmet burgers and tacos and a lot of soups and salads. But we sell more barbecue and smoked meats more than anything.”

Why did you make the switch at your O’Fallon location?

“We want to take Fire-N-Smoke and put them in St. Louis, but with a little smaller profile than what we do here and in Troy, but with a cafeteria style with it. My partner Terry Ravanelli and I thought about it we just felt that before I start doing that in St. Louis, we felt that he could better take care of two restaurants. That’s why we made the switch and turned this into a Fire-N-Smoke.”

How is business at the Troy restaurant?

“Better than we could have ever dreamed.”

How have people responded to your new concept at the O’Fallon restaurant?

“Not even two weeks and it’s been good here, too.”

Why barbecue?

“I’ve always been into barbecue. Even when we first opened Ravanelli’s, I got a big smoker and smoked meats there, too, even though Ravanelli’s is known for fried chicken and pasta, but we did that. I always wanted a barbecue restaurant.”

Are you still involved with Ravanelli’s Restaurant?

“Yes. Terry and I are 50 percent owners in that.”

How did you get started in the restaurant business?

“I worked for Frank Ravanelli, the original owner. I started there in high school and then went off to chef school. And then he retired and sold the restaurant, and the people he sold it to didn’t make it. And he approached me and asked me if I wanted to open it with his son. That was in 1998.”

When you opened the O’Fallon restaurant it wasn’t as a Ravanelli’s, right?

“Yes. This was built for Outlaw Blues. It was my concept It was some barbecue with some New Orleans flavor and some fried chicken.”

How long did you operate that business?

“That was here for about three years. I thought it would do better as a Ravanelli’s and it did do better as a Ravanelli’s here.”

What other restaurants are you involved with?

“My wife and family run Urban Farmhouse, and like we do here, too, we try to use as much local produce and meats that we can find. They either come from Illinois or Missouri farms, and they’re all natural.”

What would you like to do when you open your next restaurant across the river?

“Do a smaller footprint kind of restaurant, maybe the size of a Chipotle, but with our barbecue in it in the same style where you go up to the counter, order the food, they give you the food right there, then you sit down and eat it. But there will be a lot of craft beer and craft soda. We kind of like that part of the concept.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2015 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Ravanelli’s restaurateur expands tastes to barbecue."