Truth + Transparency Creates Compelling Content|Josh House (Pickles&Bones Barbecue)|DH101 - a podcast by Shawn Walchef

Josh House and Shawn Walchef may have been separated at birth.
The Pickles&Bones Barbecue co-owner in Milford, OH and the Cali BBQ founder from La Jolla, CA may not have grown up in the same home, but they found each other in a familiar house just the same.

“I’m a big podcast guy and I learn through listening,” says Josh House when hewas a guest on the Digital Hospitality podcast in June 2021.
“I’ve come to learn how valuable the audio form is, and I enjoy Clubhouse. It’s a cool way to get a good group of people across the country together and talk about the stuff we’re all thinking about.” 

Learn more about Pickles and Bones Barbecue at: https://www.picklesandbones.com/Subscribe to the Cali BBQ YouTube channel and click the bell icon to get notified of new videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMctYe4sqv9jxfmWmp0C2sw

 https://youtu.be/ckbL2eLqZEw

 PODCAST CHAPTERS —

[0:00]Intro to Digital Hospitality podcast interview with Josh House (Pickles&Bones Barbecue) 
[2:15]Using the Clubhouse App
[8:46]The Importance of Mentorship
[12:16]Opening Another Restaurant
[17:09]Hospitality is Making Memorable Moments
[23:27]Starting a Podcast as a Restaurant Owner
[37:46]Mental Health Awareness
[43:23]Connect with Josh House

 Building the Pickles and Bones Barbecue Business:
Through the drop-in audio chat app Clubhouse, the two barbecue businessmen turned media mavens found each online and found out they had a lot in common.Both men work with their wives. 
Both men run their own podcast. Both men were raised in the kitchen. 

“I’ve been a chef my whole life,” recalls Josh. “Washing dishes and making pizzas when I was 14. I went to college and realized it wasn’t for me and I fell in love with restaurants — every part of it.”In Ohio, Josh put in his time in the kitchen just as Shawn grinded it out on the operational side. By the mid-2010s, Josh was ready to expand past his executive chef status and start carving out a company of his own.
“My wife and I purchased a food trailer,” Josh looks back. “We set up in a parking lot not far from our house as a side hustle on Sundays when I was off work. We did twelve Sundays in 2015 and got great feedback.”It didn’t take long for Josh and his wife’s food truck to become a brick and mortar location and a full-time endeavor. Pickles and Bones Barbecue became a staple of Milford, feeding the city and becoming part of its fabric.

“Our goal was to establish ourselves as a pillar of our community,” Josh shares. “We give back to schools and any non-profit we can partner with.”In the time since opening, Josh and his wife have become credible in their community like any good neighbor. They are accountable, they are hospitable, they make great moments for others and they strive to get better every day.

 Getting Better at Running a Restaurant Every Day:
The lessons Josh House learned as an executive chef set him up for the standard he and his staff adhere to today.“If you’re paying $15 for barbecue from us, as a chef, it’s no different than if you’re paying $200 for a five-course tasting menu,” notes Josh. “Fine dining is really just attention to detail and not taking shortcuts. We never sacrifice quality for profit or convenience. We only use prime brisket; anything less we just won’t serve it. I won’t be able to sleep at night if I put out something that’s inferior to our standard. We make all the sauces and all the sides. A lot of the cooks have been in fine dining in the past.”

The proof is in the pudding, or rather the brisket, at Pickles&Bones Barbecue. Quality ingredients and added integrity are the secret sauce for a company embedded in their community.

So is connection.Like Shawn, Josh knows that when it comes to connecting with the community, it’s important to practice hospitality both in person and online.

“When you see an extremely nice photograph?

Further episodes of Digital Hospitality: A Cali BBQ Media Podcast

Further podcasts by Shawn Walchef

Website of Shawn Walchef