Norm Sinnock’s first entrée into the restaurant business was busting suds as a dishwasher 34 years ago. It almost turned him away for good.
“It was brutal, absolutely brutal,” Sinnock says now, recalling his work at A.C. Petersen in Bloomfield at 16. “The shifts were long. It was hot, dirty work. The garbage barrels were really heavy and you had to lift them into the dumpster — and I wasn’t tall enough or strong enough to get them to the top.”
These days, the shifts are still long and the work is arduous. But as the owner of Nat Hayden’s Real Pit Barbeque in Windsor, Sinnock has an appreciation for what it takes to be a restaurateur: hard work, dedication, and the confidence that comes from learning the business from the ground up. From dishwasher to prep man, to line worker, chef and ultimately owner, Sinnock has done it all in the food business.
“The one thing you learn about the restaurant business is that if you’re a good worker, you do get rewarded. There is a real meritocracy,” said Sinnock, who was reared in Hartford, attended mostly private schools and graduated from UConn and The Culinary Institute of America.
“I can’t imagine being in a management position where I didn’t know how to do all the jobs under me,” said Sinnock. “That would be terrifying, because you’re always put into a position where you have to do somebody’s job — and you need to be able to do it. The customer needs to experience a seamless level of service. They don’t need to know that one of the cooks or waitresses called out sick.”
Nat Hayden’s opened in 2010 on Broad Street in an 800-square-foot store front. The business quickly outgrew the space and moved in December to a 2,000-square-foot Broad Street location up the road. Seating has tripled to 60. There is a larger freezer and an expanded menu, which includes pulled pork, fried catfish, beef brisket burgers, thunder wings (made with spicy homemade sauce), collard greens, rice and beans and other “Pan Southern” cuisine. Sinnock says the menu is a mix of the best barbeque from Texas to the Carolinas. Prices range from $3.95 for a cup of soup to $20.85 for a half rack of ribs, two side dishes and cornbread.
The name Nat Hayden’s has resulted in some confusion and humorous moments. The moniker sounds like a venerable franchise or some iconic figure from southern barbeque lore.
Some customers assumed it was named after the restaurant’s owner. There have been plenty of letters addressed to Nat Hayden and phone calls asking for “Nat.”
For the record, Nathaniel Hayden (1642-1706) is considered one of the early founders of Windsor, which touts itself as Connecticut’s oldest town. Sinnock and a previous partner wanted the new business to have a distinctly Windsor flavor. So, more than 300 years after his death, the Hayden name is also a barbeque grub brand.
Sinnock, married and the father of three, actually started out as an art major at UConn. But after getting married and having a first child, he needed a career with more financial stability. The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. caught his eye.
Food preparation is like the arts, Sinnock said, in that it requires imagination and a creative eye.
“You’re problem solving, with form, shape, color and balance,” he said. “And asking yourself how can I make this better? You’re working with creative people. Food just happens to be the particular outlet.”
Managing those creative people is also an art form. An important lesson Sinnock learned is that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to managing his 20 employees.
“Every employee needs to be motivated in a different way,” he said. “The key is to figure out what that motivation is — and then apply it. Some employees need to be screamed at. Some need to be stroked. Some need the carrot, some need the stick. Some need to be ignored and left alone.”
His biggest adjustment from chef to restaurateur has been the business side. With the help of his accountant, Sinnock says he continues to learn.
“It’s hard,” he said. “I fly by the seat of my pants a lot of the time. I’ve made some good decisions. I’ve made some bad ones.”
The decision to relocate was a good one, he says. The decision to open in the initial Broad Street location was not so good because of its limited space.
A five-year plan calls for the restructuring and elimination of debt the business took on with the expansion. More revenue streams will be needed.
The Hayden brand will be expanded in the next three years to Nat’s Rack Shack: takeout-only joints to be located near college campuses and in downtown Hartford. A presence in mall food courts is also planned.
Stan Simpson is host of “The Stan Simpson Show” (www.Foxct.com/stan and Saturdays, 5:30 a.m., on FoxCT). His ‘Faces in Business’ column appears monthly.
