GRILL SEEKING
URBAN BONFIRE GIVES OUTDOOR COOKING THE SPECIALTY STORE TREATMENT.
MONTREAL • On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Montreal, fragrant smoke wafts from charcoal grills as people relax outdoors on a wooden deck, eating, drinking and talking about their favourite barbecue dishes.
This isn’ t a bunch of friends getting together for a backyard barbecue; rather it’s a class hosted by five-time Quebec barbecue champion Dylan Kier at the outdoor kitchen of Urban Bonfire, a business that is carving out a niche as a full- service outdoor cooking store.
Montreal- based Urban Bonfire is only a few years old, but it already has grown in both in size and scope as people increasingly see their backyard patios as more than a place to keep a rusty grill for a few summer barbecues.
After a career in commercial real estate development that involved constant travel, Urban Bonfire co- owner Ryan Bloom decided he wanted a simpler life, more like his fond memories of gathering with friends and family to enjoy barbecuing — especially his younger brothers — at the family cottage.
He noticed there were specialty stores for nearly every other pastime, but spent three years researching the sector before deciding to jump in to the outdoor kitchen business. Bloom and Stefan Marchant opened Urban Bonfire in the winter of 2013, pooling their savings to set up a small, 500-squarefoot barbecue shop.
“Grilling seemed to be an extension of a hardware or appliance store that has barbecues in season. We wanted to do something with a lot more focus and passion,” Bloom said.
Bloom acknowledged there were some competitors specializing in barbecue cooking in Canada when Urban Bonfire opened. Ontario’s Barbecue World has three locations with a massive showroom of grills, smokers, pizza ovens and patio furniture, and just outside of Montreal, BBQ Quebec has multiple stores offering grills, accessories and lessons.
But he contends where his store stands apart is that it offers a complete vertical integration — from designing and building outdoor kitchens, to selling grills, making sauces and hosting cooking classes. “We found there was a significant void in experiential retail in this category,” he said.
More than 20 people attended the barbecuing class with Kier, who cooked up whole chickens, wings, pizzas and steaks on two egg-shaped kamado- style charcoal ceramic grills. Kier is brand ambassador for the Komado Joe cookers being used, but the event isn’t your usual sales pitch. About half the people there have already bought the grill and are just trying to learn how to be better cooks.
“I get tremendous satisfaction helping people get through the learning curve,” said Kier, who owns Montreal’s Blackstrap BBQ restaurant and runs a few cooking classes a year at Urban Bonfire.
Mitch Mares, a 28-year-old financial advisor, wanted to learn how to cook some new dishes on the grill he bought in May. Mare estimates he’s spent about $4,000 at Urban Bonfire and while he may have been able to get the same items cheaper online, he said he prefers to support a local business that brings together like-minded barbecue enthusiasts.
“They’re giving back to me at a certain point with the service and the classes,” he said.
Although grills and accessories are important, Urban Bonfire’s driving force is its design division led by Marchant, an engineer who used to work at Bombardier.
When Urban Bonfire opened, custom outdoor kitchen design made up about 15 per cent of its sales, now it brings in about 85 per cent of revenue, Bloom and Marchant noted.
“There was a time when people’s backyards were sort of off to the side or through a small patio door. Now, architects are designing these huge glass walls that are merging the indoor and outdoor. Having that rusty barbecue is just not an option … anymore,” Marchant said.
Design projects range from $ 7,000 to $ 180,000, and the co- owners said they have designed and outfitted the Laurentian chalets of some of Quebec’s rich and famous, although they declined to name any.
Marchant and Bloom also were not willing to disclose sales figures, only saying they have exceeded projections each year since opening.
Last April, Urban Bonfire moved to a larger space, complete with a showroom, warehouse, and indoor and outdoor kitchens for classes, and now have eight full-time employees.
The Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association said grilling at home is becoming more popular, with nearly half of Canadians surveyed saying they plan to purchase a new barbecue or smoker in 2016 while nearly a quarter plan to grill more often.
Bloom and Marchant said they are working on plans to open another location, although not necessarily in Montreal.
In Canada, outdoor cooking has obvious limitations, namely a harsh winter. The majority of sales for most North American barbecue retailers come from the southern United States where people can comfortably grilling year round, Bloom noted. “We would obviously, if possible, try to follow that trend,” he added.
Urban Bonfire said it has done a design project in Atlanta. “We’re becoming known as experts in this field,” Bloom said. “We don’t know of another company in North America that does what we do, the way we do it.”
While online sales have helped close many bricksand- mortar businesses, Bloom said when buying a barbecue people tend to want to experience it, especially if they are dropping $36,000 for a top-of-the-line, 700- pound Kalamazoo grill that’s hand made in Michigan.
“A grill is a tactile experience,” said Bloom, comparing it to test-driving a sports car.
At the barbecue lessons, Jeffrey Flegg stands close to the grill as Kier puts the final sear on a thick rib steak. A long-time barbecue enthusiast, Flegg said he’s had his eye on the Big Green Egg grill since 2008. But, with the recession and a cost of about $ 1,500 for the standard model, he didn’t make the purchase.
When he turned 60 this year, his wife Felice Flegg decided it would make an ideal birthday gift.
After a bad customer service experience elsewhere, the manufacturer sent her to Urban Bonfire. Bloom invited the Fleggs to the store for dinner where he cooked up a rib steak and filet minion so they could try out the grill with their favourite cuts before purchasing it.
“I don’t think I would have bought it if it was just over the web,” Jeffrey Flegg said. “It’s too big a purchase and then if I’m not happy, what do I do?”