Culinary Chronicles
Ricewood’s path to success through the eyes of Frank Fejeran
—By Adam Karibian
To embark on the journey of smoking brisket, start by selecting a high-quality cut, preferably a well-marbled packer brisket, 9 to 10 pounds, with both the flat and point intact. Before firing up the smoker, generously season the brisket with a balanced rub of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Maintain a consistent smoker temperature of around 225-250°F (107-121°C) and allocate approximately 1 to 1.5 hours of smoking time per pound of meat. As the brisket smokes, periodically baste it with a flavorful liquid, such as apple juice or a vinegar-based mop. Once the internal temperature reaches around 195-203°F (90-95°C), wrap the brisket in foil and allow it to rest for at least an hour before slicing, ensuring a tender result.
This process is repeated every Tuesday through Saturday at Ricewood. If even one step isn’t crafted to perfection, the meat batch won’t be up to standards. Chef Frank Fejeran, ex-Ravens Club chef, is no newcomer to restaurant operations. In fact, Frank and his brother Gabe aimed to completely change how the restaurant business was run when they opened their food truck trailer in 2015. Back when Ricewood was just a trailer, Fejeran and his staff would park right next to York Food and Drink Monday through Friday and sell out within the hour. This prevented late hours and weekend shifts, which maximized both profit and contentment.
After earning enough cash, the two decided to permanently solidify their “real barbecue” inside York’s building complex, with Frank taking the majority of ownership responsibilities. Fejeran’s smoked barbecue draws its inspiration from his childhood memories, which were influenced by Guamanian cuisine. According to Fejeran, Guamanian barbecue is “a staple at my house and has been since I was a kid.” This style of barbecue reflects influences from Guam’s indigenous Chamorro cuisine, as well as Spanish, Filipino, and American culinary traditions. At the heart of Guamanian barbecue is a blend of flavors and ingredients, often featuring marinated meats grilled to perfection. The marinades typically include a combination of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, onions, and various spices. While cooking Guamanian-style barbecue is time consuming and intense, Fejeran didn’t seem to mind, even though at this time he was basically a one-man crew. This was exactly what Fejeran wanted, to work for himself and chase his own aspirations.
Ricewood’s roots
Before the opening of Ricewood, Fejeran said that he would barbecue nearly every weekend during his free time. After learning and developing a sense of understanding for the grill, Fejeran really developed a passion for barbecuing. Being an experienced chef in the area, he knew what it took to open a restaurant both mentally and financially. With his mind made up, Fejeran decided to leave his duties as head chef of Ravens Club and pursue his dream of owning his own restaurant. With his experience and fondness for grilling, opening Ricewood was an easy and rewarding decision. After finalizing the idea and purchasing a concession trailer, Fejeran needed equipment. For Fejeran, buying a smoker for around $10,000 compared to having to purchase a grill, fryer, pots, and pans felt like a no-brainer. “There’s just a whole lot of cost going into creating a menu, where I could just get one piece of equipment that cooks everything the exact same way and go from there.”
For those not familiar, Ann Arbor possesses many diverse, local food establishments. As Jennifer Conlin puts it in her 2017 New York Times article, the Ann Arbor food scene “had grown from collegiate to culinary.” Fejeran wasn’t worried about the fact that starting a restaurant doesn’t always end well, especially considering the variety of establishments that Ann Arbor possesses.
Finadene flavor
Finadene sauce, a spicy all-purpose condiment from Chamorro cuisine, was a staple of Fejeran’s early childhood. Adding finadene to two scoops of rice, scallions, and tomatoes are the ingredients for Ricewood’s sought-after “rice bowl.” Ricewood has coined the term “real barbecue,” which separates them from other barbecue spots around the area. At Ricewood, everything is made the same day. One of Fejeran’s coworkers will come in bright and early and begin the smoking process, which can take up to 12 hours. After all the meat for the day has been cooked, it is then transferred to the warming rack, where line cooks weigh and serve the meat from there.
Every Thursday, both Packard and North Maple, their second location, have a specialty menu that features Mexican-inspired dishes. On Fridays and Saturdays, each location has two or more speciality burgers that are first-come, first-serve.
Competition or companionship?
For those who are unfamiliar with Ricewood’s original location inside York, restaurant space is hard to come by. Due to the lack of space, both York Food and Drink and Ricewood partially share a kitchen. In addition, York offers lot space in the back of their complex for food trucks like Bao Boys. With two restaurants in the same workspace, along with new food trucks every week, one might imagine some high tensions for customers. However, this is not the case at all. “We’ve never really stepped on each other’s toes,” said Fejeran, “it’s pretty good…and we all do different stuff, and we all have our own section area of the business.”
Fejeran’s relations aren’t only high with the neighboring food spots but with his coworkers as well: “It feels good having more and more people work for us and be responsible for more people’s lives.” Fejeran views his workers as his family. He cares about every single one of them and provides them with job sustainability. There also seems to be a great balance between work and leisure.
Future aspirations
“It’s definitely had its growing pains. It’s definitely been a change for me because I was always in the kitchen. I was always just somebody who liked to work in the kitchen. That’s all I ever knew.” As of now Fejeran is usually occupied with the financial side of his business. He makes sure that Ricewood’s taxes and payroll are all up to date. In addition, Fejeran has his hands full dealing with opening up a new third location in Brighton, Michigan.
“But I imagine the cost will be at least cut in half, if not more.” According to Fejeran, the Brighton location will come with a previous kitchen, which therefore lowers the cost of renovating the lot. Still in early development, Fejeran now has to wait a couple of months before he truly knows the expense of the new location. As of now, he is still in charge of Ricewood’s finances as he continues to kindle the passion he’s always had with the food industry.
Fejeran continues to manage both locations of Ricewood, and even though he’s worked in the kitchen for most of his life, he doesn’t mind at all. “It’s definitely been a different change for me,” says Fejeran, “It’s taking on a whole new job that I’ve never done before.” As long as his team is happy and content, he has no regrets leaving the kitchen behind: “We have a great team. And really, that’s just it moving forward.”
Feature Photo, Annie Spratt via Unsplash