Meet the longtime Columbus resident who became the new owner of this barbecue restaurant

For most of his adult life, longtime Columbus resident Dhawal “Danny” Raste worked at gas stations from Maryland to Georgia.

But Raste had long dreamed of opening a restaurant after moving his family to Columbus 17 years ago. He began exploring possibilities and learning what it would take to open a business when an opportunity presented itself.

That opportunity recently presented itself. The local franchise owners of Shane’s Rib Shack on Veterans Parkway were getting older and no longer wanted to work the long hours needed to operate the restaurant, so they decided to sell the business.

After months of training and discussions, Raste became the new owner of the Shane’s Rib Shack location earlier this year. He hopes the restaurant will continue being a meeting place for people to come to enjoy lunch and dinner.

While Raste knows his roots in Columbus aren’t as deep as some others can claim, he feels deeply involved in the community and expects the restaurant to be a presence in the community. Residents can expect to see the food truck at festivals, he said, and see the restaurant catering more events in the future.

Columbus has supported his family for the past 17 years as he raised his sons, Raste said, and he hopes to support Columbus in return.

“This is a family business,” Raste said. “We are very much involved in the community. I’m not somebody new. I spent half my life here.”

Hard work running the business

Shane’s Rib Shack first opened in Columbus around five years ago, but the brand was founded by Shane Thompson in McDonough, Georgia. When the former owner of the Columbus location opened the restaurant, it was meant to be a hobby or side job, Raste told the Ledger-Enquirer.

But struggles with finding labor meant long hours. They wanted to retire, and Raste was ready and willing to do the hard work.

“I start my day at about 6:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.,” he said. “I stay until 10 o’clock in the night.”

Raste’s teenage sons, Neer and Daivya, attend Columbus High School and are part-time employees at the restaurant. They often join Raste early in the morning to begin preparing the food for the day.

Shane’s Rib Shack primarily offers southern style barbecue along with chicken tenders, wings and hot dogs.

Raste spent eight weeks training to operate a franchise location in Atlanta before he officially closed on the business sale in February. As an owner, he is hands-on in the restaurant’s operations to ensure the quality of the food and service for the customers.

“I see pretty much every aspect of the food coming out of the kitchen,” Raste said.

Along with his sons, Raste’s wife, Alpa, also helps with the restaurant along with her day job at Midland Academy.

“She gives me strength,” he said. “I know that I can rely on (my family).”

A wake-up call and a pivot

When Raste first began seriously pursuing starting a restaurant, barbecue wasn’t what he thought he’d end up doing. Initially, he wanted to open an Indian restaurant in Columbus.

To learn more about owning a business and the process, Raste joined a StartUp Columbus program . Every Wednesday he’d go learn from Ben McMinn and his team.

During this time, Raste learned what it took to own a business and took advantage of resources offered to him. In the process, he’d learned there were already a number of similar restaurants to what he’d wanted to open in Columbus.

“I realized that it wouldn’t be feasible to open up a large restaurant in an already saturated market,” he said.

It would take at least a year to be profitable. This knowledge was a wake-up call that motivated Raste to pivot.

Through his involvement with StartUp Columbus, Raste learned that Shane’s Rib Shack was for sale. The restaurant was already established with a loyal customer base behind it.

He asked for the business’ financials and determined that aside from the time that many restaurants struggled during the pandemic, the restaurant was a growing business.

“It’s worth taking the risk,” Raste said. “And I would expand on the base.”

Raste doesn’t want to be the person to say whether Shane’s has the best barbecue in Columbus, he said, but he encourages people to come try the food to compare it for themselves.

“(I want customers) to have good food, a nice, friendly atmosphere and the perfect service,” Raste said.

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