Henrico Small Business Spotlight: Sticks Kebob Shop

Sticks Kebob Shop is the product of three friends in fine dining wanting to bring something new to Virginia. It’s since become a local staple beloved by customers and employees, alike.

Sticks Kebob Shop was born out of a desire to bring Mediterranean food to Virginia in a fast casual environment. For co-founder Chris DuBois, specifically, his passion for the cuisine comes from his German heritage.

“I'm actually a dual citizen,” DuBois, 53, said. “There's a big Turkish influence in Germany, so when I was in high school over there, that's when I really got familiar with some of the Mediterranean cuisine and kebobs and that kind of thing.”

Fast forward to 2001, and DuBois joined forces with William Hamilton and Thomas Austin, to open the first Sticks Kebob Shop in Charlottesville. Since then, the Kebob-centric venture has opened two other founder-owned locations, including another restaurant in Charlottesville and the local shop in Henrico, across from Willow Lawn.

The Henrico location first welcomed customers in August 2008. The timing for that shop, Dubois said, was a challenge due to the 2008 financial crisis. 

“It was nervous times for us,” DuBois said. “We started out at a lower baseline of sales and performance than we would have hoped to, but, fortunately, our growth curve has been very, very good and we knew we should just stick with it.

“And I'm really glad we did because it's performing really well these days.”

DuBois describes the Willow Lawn location as clean, warm and welcoming. When you step up to order at the counter, you have many options to choose from, including the shop’s namesake “sticks.”

You can get sticks in the form of a flatbread wrap, salad, platter, family meal or a kids meal/adult snack. Meat options for sticks include beef, chicken, lamb, pork and shrimp, and vegetarian stick options including falafel and mixed veggies.

There are also plenty of sides to try including a soup of the day; cucumber, tomato and red onion salad; tabouleh; chilled marinated grilled veggie salad; chilled sesame green beans; roasted eggplant salad; hummus; onion rings and french fries. And, of course, you can add sauces, toppings and pita chips to level up your meal.

“Probably our best seller is our chicken kebob as a platter, and a hummus is our most popular side dish that goes with that,” DuBois said. “And definitely the most popular sauce that we have is our creamy cilantro-lime.”

DuBois’s current go-to is ordering the ground lamb sausage in the form of kibbeh. He has his kibbeh in a flatbread wrap with the fire-roasted red pepper and creamy cilantro-lime sauces, as well as the restaurant’s signature hot sauce.  

“The kibbeh is baked and then finished on the grill,” DuBois said. “I think it's phenomenal.”

Unique twist on Mediterranean favorites

Sticks proudly draws inspiration from Mediterranean cuisine. But that doesn’t mean its menu is traditional.

“We do get people sometimes, they come in and say, ‘This is not Lebanese falafel,’” DuBois said. “And they’re absolutely right. We’ve kind of taken dishes that we’ve enjoyed from the region and put our take on it and made it our own.”

Take their hummus, for example. DuBois says Sticks’ version is not what many people would consider traditional – but it’s beloved, nonetheless.

“It’s got more of a smokey flavor, probably less lemon or garlic than a lot of the traditional ones,” DuBois said. “But that’s the flavor profile that we really enjoyed, personally, and wanted to offer to other people, as well.”

Unique flavors are as much a part of the Sticks experience as fresh food.

“The only things that we don't make are the bread and the French fries and onion rings and some of our desserts – we bake them off in the store,” DuBois said. “But we trim all the proteins ourselves, we make our own marinade. . . Everything's basically from scratch in the store.”

You can also count on Sticks for a menu that accommodates vegetarian and gluten-free friendly diets – something that’s become increasingly important for DuBois after recently finding out one of his children has celiac disease.

“The good news for us was that [my son] really loves eating kebobs and rice from Sticks, which we didn't have to change anything in that regard,” DuBois said. “I've got several friends, actually, that are also in that same position. . . and they often just let me know how much they appreciate having some good food from Sticks that is easy for them to source.”

Another special aspect of Sticks in Henrico is the employees. DuBois proudly says staff longevity has helped them maintain the consistency and quality of the restaurant.

“We've got an amazing crew there,” DuBois said. “We've got several people in Richmond that have been there for well over a decade, including someone that's been there from the onset.” 

Even the management team has proven to be in it for the long run. The general manager has been with the restaurant for seven years and everyone else in management has been there for at least six.

“Having that kind of consistency with staff is just phenomenal,” DuBois said. “It resonates with our customers as well, and it resonates with me, personally.”

Sticks’ three restaurants are doing so well that the company is looking to sell franchises. So, keep an eye out for upcoming Sticks’ locations in other areas of the country. 

Even as Sticks expands, however, know that the business is committed to the local areas they serve. DuBois says they love to give out gift cards to local organizations for raffles and events. Most recently, they’ve donated to places like the Richmond SPCA, Fit4Kids, the RVA Sports Awards and the Trinity Preschool and PMO.

Sticks is counting its lucky stars – or maybe its sticks – for the support from the community and the success they’ve had thus far.

“This is a product that we've all been very proud of and we’re happy that it's resonated with people,” DuBois said.

Locals can visit Sticks Kebob Shop at 1700 Willow Lawn Dr #115 and stay up to date with business happenings by following Sticks on Facebook and Instagram.

Nominate a Henrico small business to be featured in the Henrico Small Business Spotlight by e-mailing us here.