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Dreamland CEO discusses company’s values, growth

by

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

Erica Techo

With 10 locations in the Southeast, a presence in multiple stadiums and the ability to ship its products throughout the country, Dreamland Bar-B-Que still considers itself a small business, CEO Betsy McAtee told the Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

McAtee, the featured speaker at the May 23 luncheon, spoke about how Dreamland has grown and expanded over the years while sticking to its roots.

The company has four values that tie into its core purpose of “Preserve tradition with food, fun and family memories,” McAtee said, and those values are what help Dreamland keep its focus on customers and their experience.

“A few years ago, we caught ourselves probably a little complacent, a little bit less focused,” McAtee said. “... What we saw in our office and in our team was that we had lost sight of that [experience]. If you can’t make someone, if someone comes into your location and they don’t feel special, they’re not coming back. So it’s all about that guest experience for us.”

One thing put in place to fight that complacency, she said, was putting in place the “Guest Experience Pyramid.” The pyramid is a structure of support that puts the guest at the top of the pyramid, and encourages each level below to support the level above it. This includes the front of house staff supporting guests, while management supports that front of house staff, and so forth, McAtee said.

Another change included renaming their central office from “corporate office” to “home office,” something McAtee said led to a “mind shift” at the store level.

“One of the things that we saw was just by changing, going from corporate office to home office, people had a much more open feel about the people that worked in the office,” McAtee said.

The four values working toward Dreamland’s core purpose, McAtee said, were also developed to help support the treasured “food memories” from customers.

“These are what we hire for, and sadly, we terminate for because it is so in our DNA and so a part of what we do every day. It’s that important,” she said.

The values include “It’s always game day” — a focus on treating every day as a day they should be at their best, kind of like they are at the Tuscaloosa stores on a University of Alabama football game day; “Drive the extra 45” — representing a dedication to go the extra mile for customers; “Honor the community” — a goal to keep a focus on the community both in the restaurant and around the restaurant; and “Respect the foundation” — asking employees to honor the tradition of Dreamland’s food and the restaurant’s beginnings.

While things have changed, adding on desserts, salads, quesadillas and nachos, McAtee said at the end of the day, they have stuck to their roots on Dreamland’s sauce and cooking process.

“In conclusion, I’m going to end on a quote, and it’s probably my favorite quote from [Dreamland founder] Mr. [John ‘Big Daddy’] Bishop, and it’s ‘Ain’t nothin’ like ‘em nowhere.’”

The luncheon, which was co-hosted by the South Shelby and Montevallo chambers of commerce, also highlighted small businesses throughout the county. Nearly 40 small businesses were nominated for this year’s small business awards, and the winner in each of five categories was announced. The winners were as follows:

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