How Slows Bar B-Q in Detroit Has Kept Corktown Fed for 20 Years

“When we started, we didn’t have any money,” says Brian Perrone, co-founder and executive chef of Slows Bar-B-Q in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. “[The location] was just one building amongst others in a row of abandoned buildings that were left to rot. We really went to work.”

Today, Corktown — the city’s oldest neighborhood and “often described as ground zero for the city’s current restaurant boom,” per Eater Detroit, is a haven for food-lovers, who can have their pick of vegan restaurants, wine bars, and, of course, an ever-blossoming brewery scene. And over the past 20 years, Slows has held fast to its role as both a Corktown food scene catalyst and neighborhood mainstay.

Back in 2005, Perrone was mostly working pop-ups and slinging burritos at a rock ‘n roll bar, when he got to talking to the janitor of the latter establishment, Phillip Cooley. “Phil told me that he bought what became the Slows building, and we [realized] we both wanted to start a restaurant,” he says. The co-founders floated ideas for a wine bar and a farm-to-table operation, but barbecue just felt like the right fit for the space and, most importantly, the neighborhood demographic. “There were businesses that had been there for a long time — they’re still there,” Perrone says. “But we were kind of ahead of the [dining scene trends] at the time, and knew something like small plates would never have worked then.”

Slows swung open its doors as an unfussy barbecue joint in September 2005, and it became a favorite of locals thanks to its standing as one of a few spots in the area to offer pulled, chopped brisket, and other barbecued meats. Its sides — hearty dishes like beef brisket coney fries and dazzled with slices of jalapeño and diced onions, and a macaroni and cheese angered with a host of spices — made it a household name locally.

Slows’ marquee menu item, however, became the Yardbird, a sandwich with smoked chicken, sauteed mushrooms, cheddar, bacon, and house-made whole grain honey mustard barbecue sauce that earned so many fans, it was featured on the Travel Channel show Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America. The Yardbird is no longer “top of the list,” says Peronne. But he insists that it was crucial in inspiring him to develop the restaurant’s popular pork sandwiches, while streamlining the menu by dropping items that felt overly ambitious for a spot where customers expect quick-turnaround orders. “I wanted to do a poached pear and crêpe thing, and a bao bun with apple pie filling at one time,” he says, laughing, “which was cool, but just too intricate.” Instead, Slows doles out comforts like carrot cake, fruit cobbler, and an ice cream float for dessert. “We also get a lot of blue-collar [workers] in here on their lunch break,” Peronne says. “And while over the years we’ve been getting tourists and [food-loving] more people, it was important to understand our audience.”

As far as the aesthetics are concerned, little has changed inside Slows’ flagship. The interior still consists of the same exposed, salvaged, and reclaimed brick and wood materials that buttressed the business in its early years, both design- and budget-wise, and the menu feels confident in itself with room to grow. “When we started, we understood that barbecue doesn’t have as high of a food cost as, say, seafood,” Perrone says. “That doesn’t mean we didn’t try salmon and catfish and all of these things. So I guess I’m excited to continue trying new stuff.” At the time of our interview, Peronne’s West Coast time was gearing up to serve at a Pride parade in Berkeley. “I can’t wait to spend time out there and get a feel for what [our Berkeley] neighborhood loves,” he adds — after all, it’s what Slows has always done best.