Poland makes sure Redbone Alley’s guests are happy

While the redbone hound symbolizes Redbone Alley, general manager David Poland personifies the operations of the popular restaurant.

Poland joined Redbone in 1996 and has been the general manager since 1998. Before that, he worked at Carrie Nation’s for 13 years.

He knows Redbone’s ins and outs from one end to the other because he averages 12 hours a day, five days a week, at the restaurant.

But the long hours don’t bother Poland, a bachelor. He said he enjoys what he does.

“There’s always something going on,” he said during a brief break Monday. “It’s never boring, plus it’s a good feeling, knowing you make a lot of people happy. We are a family restaurant with one of the most popular ice cream trucks in the country sitting in our kids area of the dining room.”

Poland has worked in every facet of Redbone, from bartending to the kitchen. The restaurant has about 85 employees.

“I know what to expect of the employees and how to motivate them,” he said. “Our ultimate goal is taking care of our guests. We want everybody to be happy.”

Poland arrives about 8 a.m. He oversees other managers who are responsible for, among other things, seeing that food and alcohol shipments are in, the dining room is shipshape and personnel are ready to serve guests.

Poland is a stickler for making sure the wait staff is trained properly. Some of the more experienced employees he calls team leaders assist with the training.

Many of the waiters come from Francis Marion University and Florence-Darlington Technical College. And many of the hostesses are high school students.

Some of the waiters have grown up coming to Redbone, which, in many cases, is their first job.

“Business has been growing every year,” Poland said. “We average around 600 to 1,200 customers a day. I think one of the reasons for that is we serve large portions of food at a reasonable price. Some 80 to 85 percent of our customers leave with a take-out box.”

Redbone gets many out-of-town business, especially travelers staying in area motels. And a favorite dish of tourists, as well as regulars, is Redbone’s succulent shrimp and grits.

The restaurant buys a plenty of local products such as blueberries, honey, quail and pork products. Many of the vegetables are purchased from the Pee Dee State Farmers Market and from a vegetable grower in Effingham.

It also offers fresh fish, going so far as buying saltwater fish from an angler who reels in his catch, ices it and brings it straight to Redbone.

“None of our food is frozen,” he said. “We cook everything from scratch.”

Fridays and Saturdays are Redbone’s busiest days. And Sundays have picked up since the restaurant has started serving alcohol.

“I’ve heard nothing negative about being able to serve alcohol on Sundays,” Poland said. “It gives people a choice they didn’t have before, and they seem pleased with that.”

Poland’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed by Redbone owner Dale Barth.

“David is a pleasure to work with,” Barth said. “He’s a hard worker and as smart as they come. He’s customer driven. I couldn’t ask for a finer person to work with.”

— Staff writer Dwight Dana can be reached at (843) 317-7259. Comment on this story at http://www.scnow.com.