January 2014
| Business World Magazine | 181
dining experiences Chase offered at Cop-
per Cellar and Chesapeake’s.
Seeking to establish the fledgling brand
in an unmistakably visible manner, the
ownership team packed up the necessary
supplies and headed to Cleveland to take
part in a “Best Ribs in America” competi-
tion, where it felt a reputation was there
to be made via head-to-head competition.
By the time they returned to Knoxville
– as the event’s champion – the goal had
been reached.
“When they came back, the news was
all over that they’d been named the best
ribs in America,” Fricks says. “All the TV
stations covered it and things went kind of
crazy. This was before social media and
all that. People’s attentions were much
more focused. And it took off after that.
People were more in tune. It was a more
profitable business model than the steak-
house and we did very good volumes. “
“When you’re on a roll with some-
thing, you roll with it and you go with it.
That’s what we did.”
These days, the family has grown to
16 restaurants, which includes eight Cal-
houn’s locations, two Copper Cellars,
