From Hometown Life, Jan. 15, 2019
When discussing the topic of why he doesn’t spend a significant amount of revenue on traditional advertising, Max and Bella’s Smokehouse owner Aaron Peggs swung open the doors of his Cadillac-sized meat smoker, releasing a plume of smoke saturated with the sweet aroma of smoked brisket.
“That’s my advertising,” Peggs said one cloudless morning last week, motioning toward the wind-blown smell of success that was headed west, toward downtown Plymouth.
Given the popularity the world-renowned gourmet chef and restaurant turnaround guru has already garnered in the six weeks his smokehouse has been open on Ann Arbor Trail, it’s hard to argue with his promotional strategies.
Featuring a quality-over-quantity menu — the five mains consist of baby-back ribs (both half and full racks), a brisket meal, pork meal, half-chicken and dirty rice — and unique-to-Plymouth style of cooking, Max and Bella’s has already made a significant mark in the community his wife and partner, Kim Lahti, have resided in since 2010.
“Business has been really good so far,” Lahti said. “During the five days a week we’ve been open, we sold out an average of three days a week.”
“We’re open from 12 to 8 Wednesdays through Sundays, but we tell people that we try to sell out every day,” Peggs said. “If we do sell out, we close the place up. Our food is fresh. There’s no grease, we don’t use gas. We like to keep it simple, old school. Everything is cooked on the smoker.”
Check out this feature from Hometown Life to read more about Max and Bella’s Smokehouse!
