The Chicken Man of Barberton - Episode 13 Brian Canale

Get ready for a flavor-packed adventure as Josh and Jack talk with Brian Canale, a third-generation restaurateur and a man who's part of what Barberton is famous for with his delectable chicken!

Our conversation with Brian traces the rich history of Hopocan Gardens, a legendary restaurant that's been tantalizing taste buds for nearly eight decades. Part of that is Brian's unwavering passion for the industry, as he talks about how he's worked at the restaurant since age 12.

Get ready to meet a true community gem, a man who's not only feeding the soul with his delectable dishes but also nourishing the hearts of those in need. Discover how Brian's involvement with the Ben Curtis Foundation's Birdie Bag program is transforming the lives of countless children in Barberton.

Brian has built unbreakable bonds with customers and the community through the years that has created a loyal following for both Hopocan Gardens and White House Chicken.

Embark on this delectable adventure with us and meet Brian Canale, a man who's not just a restaurateur but a community hero, making a difference one delicious bite at a time.

https://youtu.be/Y_GZvvIXth4?si=ty5YzCP140MrvLHi

#MagicCityNeighborsOnTheMic #BarbertonCommunityFoundation #GameChangerAwards #BarbertonChicken #CommunityImpact #FlavorfulRevolution

Transcript

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Hey, everyone. I am Josh sitting next to me. Well, that's your show, Jack. Yeah. So an across the table from us, we have the one of the 2023 Barberton Community Foundation Game Changer Award winners, Mr. Brian Canale. and you may know him for another reason, but we will get into some of that right after this. You're listening. The Magic City neighbors on the mike, where we talk to your Barberton neighbors about their stories, their insights and what gets them laughing. Make sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And now to the show. Barberton. It is known for many things being the Magic city, being purple, the mom first. But if you talk to anyone outside of the city, inevitably Barberton chicken is going to come up as a topic. And we can't have any in your today because Josh didn't want to get grease on the mic. I'm I'm kind of like that, so. Brian, thank you for being here today. Thank you. It's an honor. Congratulations on being the 2023 one of the Game Changer Awards. Thank you. That's awesome. Thank you. We I mean, elephant in the room, chicken in the room. Whatever you want to talk, let's talk food. So you're third generation restaurant owner. Correct. Third generation started up again. Gardens. My grandfather started it. The property's actually been in the family for about seven generations now. So it's it's quite a it has been handed down, handed down, handed down. And it was a bar at one time. And there's still pictures of that bar at the restaurant. If you go in the lobby, you'll see there's a picture hanging up right by the hostess stand of what the restaurant used to look like when it was a bar. And then and it's been a restaurant. But yeah, it's we've been there a long time as a restaurant. Almost 80 years. Wow. That that's, that's that that's some Barberton staying power. That. That. Yeah, that's it. At least one of my life times out. That's three times I think back on it I recognize it at least right now. Yeah. More of your life. I've got to say that's closer to four. I think. Yeah that's, that's the carry the what. Yeah. Were there something like that. So what inspired you to, to follow in those footsteps. Well I like the business I started, I started as a young man, I started at 12 and younger than, than you are Jack, and started washing dishes on Sundays. And I just. I just enjoyed it. It's a it's a fun business. People come in and they're happy to come in. They know they're going to get a good quality dinner. They're excited. And all we got to do is make sure they leave that way. And I thought, That's fun. It's almost it's almost entertainment. It's just borderline entertainment. I enjoyed the business so much that I worked at all through college. I have my formal training as accounting. I did decide to stay in the family business and I haven't looked back. It's just been a it's been a great experience. And it's it lived up to everything that I thought it would be as far as, you know, just take care of the customers. It's pretty simple thing. Yeah. So you've been in this a few years, then This is this? Yes, I'm 64, so. Yeah. Let's go marry the one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We won't do that math on here. I've been, I've been doing that a long time and I've done, I've done everything in the restaurant. I, there's nothing that when I tell people you need to do this or that, I said, Listen, I'm not going to make you do anything I haven't already done. More than once. I've waited on tables, I've host, I've done everything you can, you can imagine in the restaurant. And it's been a wonderful experience. But it it's fun every day. It's never the same. There's some of the experiences or the, you know, we still talk about them today as far as customer experiences. And I've got a mayor Judge's wife's father is his father in law. He used to come in every Friday and he would Burt Smith was his name and he would get a buck and a chicken and a draft beer because I would be working the counter. And I think for I think for ten years he would come in every Friday and get a bucket of chicken and a draft beer. And we would talk as I would be working the counter. I was there all the time. I was a fixture and and there were so and so was he. And there was a lot of there was a lot of those people that would come in every day, certain day of the week. They would get the same thing. I'd see him walk in the door and I'd put their order in, I'd form a beer and we'd start to chat. And what makes a good relationship? It makes a great relationship. And again, it's lived up to every every thing that you would like out of a job in the sense of communication with customers and friendly and fun. And yeah, it's just been a great experience. That's awesome. That's it's that find something you love and you don't work a day in your life. There's days where I, I mean, I know it's work. Yeah, but in the same sense you kind of think, well, this, this does be working for a living. Well, people ask me, isn't the restaurant business hard? I go, if you want to make it hard. It is. They said you have to work a lot. I go, listen, I I'm I work 24 hours a day or I'm off 24 hours a day. But both of them are half true. It doesn't matter. It's big. Just because of we're closed doesn't mean I'm not working right, but it doesn't feel like work. So there's. Is there a lot of time? Yes. Does it feel like work? No. Makes sense. So kind of part of what happened with the game changes awards. So that is because of the birdie bag program and you guys participate with that with the bank. Curtis Foundation. I know the turf was a big project that you took on. Also with the Birdie Bag program. How did you kind of get involved with that? I mean, I know we the In the Game Changers Award video you mentioned, and I love the line in the center of the video you said we asked how did you get involved with the turf? And you're like, they asked, how did that happen? And we will put a link to that in the description here and you can go watch that. How did you get involved with the birdie? BANKS Well, the the school system brought the Ben Curtis Foundation into because they had a program to feed the kids on long weekends when they weren't in school. And a lot of them don't get meals at home. They brought in the the Curtis Foundation that had a program called the Birdie Beans that they would make up meals that they could take home with them that were nonperishable. So they would have something to eat on the long weekends like Presidents Day or Labor Day, things like that. And they set up a meeting at the high school superintendent remnants, and he brought in a bunch of business owners to see who could help out. And my feeling is if my Jack, you probably don't know. It's feed people. It always feed people. No one should go hungry. And it doesn't matter if it's staff or students or anybody. We like to feed people and so it fit what we do and I couldn't give them food because it's nonperishable items. Right. But I do have a big truck and they do need it. They do need to rent a truck when they deliver the empty bins back to their office in Kent. So I offered to pick up the empty bins and take them back to their warehouse in Kent. And that's that's how we got involved in it, was because it's they do they do what we love to do, and that's feed people. It's funny you say that because, I mean, you you are steadfast in saying feed people. And I love that because it is amazing. And there are so many people that are food insecure are on the flip side of that, there's something there's a part of me that thinks this is kind of like the drug dealer saying, Hey, try this chicken. Just one taste. It just gets all you need, right? And you get them. You get you get them sucked in. Well, there's there's a little bit of that, but I don't know. I don't know. Empty beans don't too many people in food, chicken, dinner. But but yes, he has There's a lot of times when we do, we do feed teams, you know, we feed them. We put we feed the football team on Friday nights and they get spaghetti, which is not something that we're known for. And those guys devoured it. They my God, we throw a chicken tender on there instead of a meatball. Yeah. Okay. So I get my I get my shots in when I can and I and it's wonderful that you do that to me. That's the. And the other thing is, too, is it's what you guys are known for. If they wanted I mean a meatball sub, they probably should go someplace else. Probably should go somewhere else. They want a good chicken tender and they want a little bit of spaghetti and stuff like that to get powered up for the game. Well, then right you guys. But yeah, starches. But then we I want them to taste the chicken too because it tenders are right up there. That's it. Yes they are young people. That's their that's yeah. They don't want to go around the bone. No, no bones. That's work. That's work. And we know they don't want to work. Right. Right. With that. So I mean you've got a long history of giving back to the community. What is your motivation to do that? What motivates you in that? Well, you kind of touched on a little bit is to build the brand. We know you have to, even though we've been here for 80 years. And Jack, you're correct, there's not a place I don't go that someone doesn't say, Did you bring chicken? So I should put a fryer in the trunk of my car. I can probably sell this as much with, you know, I should just keep a little umbrella little warmer in my trunk, like the Domino's Pizza car. And there you go. But that's part of it, building the brand. Sure. But I it's it's just it's just fun. It's just doing what I what I like to do and and feeding people is important. And I think if we can do it, a lot of times we don't we don't give the food away. A lot of times, a lot of times we just sell it at what it costs. But even at that, it's a it's a big savings for these organizations. sure. You know, if they can buy a piece of chicken for $0.50, yeah, they can feed a lot of people. And we do. And we try to do all of the fundraisers for the sports boosters. I think if they you know, I tell them all the time, if you have a function in Barberton, you need to have fried chicken. It's part of your heritage, that's part of who you are. And just like the game changer, they've never had chicken at the game changer. And I'd offered up to and I supplied some tenders. Yeah. Did you get any? I did okay, Yeah. Yeah. No, I made sure that I in between taking pictures, I'm reaching for. How were they. They, they, they were, they were amazing. The most of the tender I think all the tenders when they were still a lot of everything else left you know. Yes. There was this giant plate of cheese that by the end of the night was cheese bricks. They had the same consistency as clay. But shortly afterwards, yes, as a as a small child, Play-Doh, you've never, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's that explains why we're here. Probably is why we survived as long as we have. But no, those things went like. I mean, they were gone. They were just gone. So I might have a sale next year instead of a freebie this year. Yeah. No, I that's. That's a good call. That's a good call. Well, that being said, I'm turning it over to Jack as Jack's got some better questions and two questions. What are some of the challenges and rewards that you feel from running to restaurants and boring? Well, the challenge is just the day to day stuff that the rest of the world is feeling and it doesn't have to do with the pandemic. We had labor issues before the pandemic, but but after. It just really compounded during the pandemic when everyone was scared to leave the house. And yeah, the government did a good job of spooking everybody. And so the challenge, the big challenge was was staffing. And then after the pandemic, the supply chain, because everybody felt the labor issue and it was a truckers, too. And truckers drive the country and the product wasn't getting to the so the wholesalers weren't getting product to get to us. So chase and product. So a lot of that stuff has changed. You know that that's been the focus of is a back of the house operations to keep the stores open right now during the pandemic. And as we come out of it before that it was a little bit of those things all a little bit each day. Some of this keeping updated, keeping the menu updated, how to get to tenders were outcome of were getting a younger crowd really. Yeah but you know we realized how long have you had those for. We've had those for about ten years. So we've been we tried to get ahead of the curve in the sense that we could see that the bone in portion of chicken was starting to fall off and that people were going, you know, with the the first one was Chick fil A, they were the ones with the boneless and they were really pushing that and it was becoming very popular. And I thought, well, we have to have something along those lines or we're going to lose all those customers. Yeah, Yeah. So, so we put the tenders on about ten years ago and long before raising Cain and long before all them other ones. So we put those on to try and combat some of that. And it was very slow. I mean it was probably £20 a week when we first started and now it's up to about £500 a week each store. Okay. Which in comparison is still the bone in. There's still a lot of people that come to Barber. And when they come here, they want the bone in tradition, tradition and so that is still you know, it's still three fourths of our business is still the bone in sure. But the tenders gives us a inroad to a younger audience and they're and they're transitioning over, you know, the middle age people are transitioning over to the the boneless and sharing their maturing and the bone in is starting to like hey, this is easy, this is easy and a lot less work now, you know? Yeah, they can use a knife and fork. They have to pick it up with their fingers. I'm all I'm hands on. Eat it. Yeah, I make a mess. I'm not doing all that fancy word. That's why we didn't have chicken in this test. Those words right there. Exactly. Yeah. So, yeah, it's so the reward is that, is that seeing them go away happy. I have a lot of fun with the customers. I, you know, at one time there was a point where when I was working the floors, working the, the dining rooms or seating people and stuff, I it wasn't unusual that I would go over and pick a French fry off their plate, just ask them how their meal was and do you care if I try a piece? And I would grab a French fry off their plate? Yeah. And so I got to the point when when I would come by, it got so frequent that they would go like this is a cover up there. They cover up their dinner. But those kind of when you build that kind of relationship because it's a relationship business. Yeah, it's it's part entertainment, part relationship. It's not all just a feeding, a need of eating. Yeah, Yeah. It's what I have fun when I go there. Everybody's friendly. It's food is good. It's everything. It really is. Because there are certain places that I won't shop because I go in there and I'm like, This is terrible, it's cheap, but this is the feeling I get there. It's just awful. Yeah. So, yeah, no, I totally get that make people feel and they come in that way. So all you got to do is make sure they leave that way. It's not a doctor's office or lawyers where they're already coming to see you. Yeah, they've got a problem and they're coming to see you and we need help. This isn't that kind of situation. Yeah. Hey, give me my chicken, make sure it's hot, and then we're good and we're good. And poke a little fun at me or whatever. And then I said, You know, I'll be on my way. I like it. What are your hopes for the future of the Birdie Bag program and the Ben Curtis Family Foundation? Well, I think they're taking care of that for us because they started out we were their second barber school systems was only their second school system that they serviced with the Birdie Bean program. Yeah. The first was Can't work. Yeah, he went to school and the second one is Barberton, but I think they're up right now almost 66 different school systems. So that's again feed you know these people these kids don't ask for to be in these situations they're they're a victim of their circumstances and a lot of times they they go hungry on the weekend. So if they can get something any kind of nutritional food and they've got to the point now where I think the birdie bags have a to do or they have a dentist donates toothbrushes. no kidding that stuff. So they get some other they're getting some other things other than nourish that they need. Yes. Getting some life the help system That's so great. Yeah. So And what advice would you give to others who are interested in getting involved in the community? Do it. It's just I, I love United. I love to do it. So everybody should get involved. It's your community. Yeah. You can't you can't sit back and complain that something's not right or this isn't the the parks are cleaned up, right? Or the if you're not doing if you're not, if you don't help, help. It doesn't matter. Time is you don't have to have money. You can you can spend time there birdie been program for me it's not have anything to do with money I have the time and I have the truck so let's do it. My wife and I do it together. My wife Carol. That's just a time thing that doesn't cost a little bit of gas a night. But yeah, the time is very rewarding to get it done. Something good to help them out. Yeah, the stuff with the restaurants, it doesn't as far as feeding the the groups, it's it's nothing. I'm basically giving it more more often than not, it's they're paying for it, but they're just paying the, the cost of the production. So yeah. So you need to get involved. If you don't get involved, you really it's like voting. If you if you don't vote, you have no say in the election. If you don't help your community, then you can't very well sit back and complain that it's not. And now you'd like it to to make a change, right? Yeah, exactly. Nice. Well, now I mean we're I think we're under the light right now. Now, lightning round time. So with this, we're going to ask you some quick pointer questions that we need one sentence answers for. So stick with one sentence. I mean, we we kind of talked it we alluded to this one earlier and you knew the answer right off the bat. We know what your favorite food is. What is your second favorite food? Pizza? That absolutely I would love to is if I wasn't so old, I'd have a chicken pizza shop. Ha. Third one coming soon. Yeah. Going to look for that. You heard it here. No, you didn't. What is your favorite thing about living in Britain besides the chicken athletics and the athletics in town are just phenomenal. And it doesn't. And it's all. It's the girls. It's the boys. It's all of them. It's the soccer. Not just football, but the baseball teams are softball teams there to go to see the basketball games, which should be exciting. We got a new coach this year that the athletics to think about that you can go see one of the usually one of the best area teams in football for five bucks on a Friday night makes sense it's it's unbelievable He gets season ticket to the basketball game and for $25 or whatever it is and see 1015 home games that grounds classic you can buy a $12 ticket and see four games in one day if you're if you're a basketball junkie. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. The offering for the athletics, the facilities that we have, you can't go wrong. Yeah. So it's a great place now. And the city, I mean the community, I don't want to say the city. The community supports it so well too. Yes, that makes it awesome. We travel very well to not just home games. Yeah, you you go. Everybody lives a presence. There is a presence you will see purple and any stand where there's barber playing. Yes Yeah. So what role for you. There was a one sentence. It's okay. Well it was close. It was close. It was, it was a run on. Yeah, that's how I used to put a bunch of commas in there. What role does food play in bringing people together and creating that sense of community? Well, there's nothing better than a good meal with family and friends. Sure, sure. I love that. That that that makes that makes perfect sense. And what advice would you give to your younger self? It's like the biggest piece of advice you could think of to tell your young son one sentence. The one sense that I would tell myself might take something to get involved earlier. I don't spend so much time in the store, get involved in the community earlier in life. Makes sense. Makes sense. Well, now this leads us to our every person questions that dive into Barberton as a whole. What is your favorite Barberton folklore slash tall tale or rumor or. Well, mine is close to the vest. I mean, it's close to experience and everyone says that when we bought the White House in October of 1990 that it was haunted. And, and there's been a couple of situations where we've had I have a gentleman that works early in the morning. He comes in and gets the inventory together

and he gets there about 6: 23:05

00 and there's nobody there. And he locked the doors behind him. Sure. And his name is Butch and he is working upstairs. One morning he told me, and he heard someone yell up the steps. We our office is upstairs at the White House. And he said he heard someone yells name Butch twice.

And he thought, there's at 6: 23:27

00 in the morning, there's nobody here. No. So I said, I went downstairs. I checked every door to make sure there was nobody in the building, make sure everything was locked up right. And everything was locked behind me. So nobody was in the building. I went back stairs and I heard someone yell up the steps again. Butch So at that point, he did he leave. He left quickly. He left. He did. He actually left and went to hop again straight out the doorway. After he left, he said, I'll come back in an hour. I would have gone home, changed my pants, and then, yeah, so. So he left. So the lady that started White House, Mary Milenkovic, lived and that was her. It was a bar. She lived upstairs. One. It was a bar. She turned it into a White House chick and she also waitressed or cooked at Belgrade's. Okay. And she turned it into a chicken house. And she actually unfortunately passed away in that in that house. Okay. In the restaurant. And so so they they and he's not the only person that has told me they've heard people walking around when they're in there by themselves. They've heard people talking. So soles of the chicken. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No thanks. No, thanks. So yeah, that's, that's, that's my story. I'll just get to go then. Yeah. And mid-afternoon. There you go. When it's light, it's still bright out. Yeah. Yeah. Don't go at night. What do you see the future for Barrington. And where do you think we're headed? In. Like, what are some bright spots? Well, I think we're heading in the right. I think we're heading in the right direction. We have a stable leadership in the mayor's office. It looks like he's going to win his reelection. We've got some programs going on with the downtown area. Yeah, you know, we were. There's no reason why we couldn't be a Massillon or Medina. We have the same we have the same creation or the same DNA. There's no reason we can't bring that back. I think it's the chicken dinners are going to be here, that those restaurants are going to be here long after I'm done working them so that we're going to have that heritage. We have. We still have the industrial base. People look at us and know that we had a strong presence in the industry and manufacturing, and I think that that's starting to come back, even though it's a little on the outside of the city. But we are it's starting to come back. It is there. There's signs of life. There's signs of life. And so I think we're heading and we're heading in the right direction as long as we can stay on that path and not jump around and get new leadership and someone wants a change. Yes. Or we just follow consistent. You have to be consistent. It's the same in the restaurant business. Someone said, you know what, Be consistently good or consistently bad. Show for customers. Yeah, somebody you'll like it bad. And if you change it to good, they're not going to come in if I'm not them. That's right, somebody else. But if you don't show up every day, you're just not going to make progress. You're not going to make progress. So stay consistent. Perfect. Keep chugging along. It's a great city. Great way to end. It is. And we will keep chugging along. Also, do us a favor. Make sure that you share this with your Magic City neighbors. And we have some more interesting guests coming up soon. Make sure you watch our social media. I was going to say Facebook, but make sure you watch all the social media is because we will be posting them soon. Keep an eye out. We will see you guys soon. Thank you.