Partners join rapidly growing franchise from Baton Rouge
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The motto for the newly-opened burger restaurant in Slidell is “Celebrate the small things.”
But you can hardly call the response to Smalls Sliders, now open at 1642 Gause Blvd. in Slidell, anything close to “small.”
Partners Rocky Gettys and Jason Barré became the newest Smalls franchise owners in the relatively young corporation which started in Baton Rouge in 2019. The Slidell location is only number six for the company, which was started by Walk-Ons founder Brandon Landry and his cousin Jacob Dugas, who brought in Drew Brees as a partner for the company.
The popularity of Smalls is becoming evident as they already have 40 more restaurants in the pipeline, with Gettys and Barré getting in on the ground floor, now owning the rights to St. Tammany, St. Bernard and Tangipahoa parishes, and expecting to open five more within five years.
Smalls Sliders is a company that focuses on a limited menu which has their cheeseburger slider as the star, served with seasoned waffle fries. The offering also includes a secret sauce called “Smauce,” which is used on the sliders and as a dipping sauce for fries.
The restaurant opened on Wednesday, Dec. 15 and has maintained two busy drive-thru lanes since the first day, as well as having an outside, covered patio area where you can order and eat.
“We expected to do well when we opened, but the response from Slidell so far has been far beyond our expectations,” Gettys said. “We are very appreciative of our guests and glad to see that they love the food here, which I did expect.”
Gettys and Barré have many years of experience with national companies such as McDonald’s, Rally’s and Smoothie King. Gettys began working at McDonald’s when he was 15, then, after finishing 30 years with Smoothie King, was looking for the right franchise where he could become an owner.
“I considered different companies, but in the end, I liked the fact Smalls was new and getting off the ground. I like their Simple on Purpose approach of focusing on doing one thing better than anyone else, and that is obviously our cheeseburger slider. Once I tried the food I was sold,” he added.
He asked Barré to become his business partner and the two are moving forward with what appears to be a rapidly exploding fast-food company.
“Culturally, I also liked the management philosophy that put the guests and our squad of workers first, above management or the company itself. I learned over the years that when you do that you achieve greater success,” he added. “Smalls checked all the boxes of what I was looking for and I’m glad we made the decision to become one of their pioneer franchise operators.”
Gettys said that their staff has managed to handle the high volume of customers thanks to another great aspect of the company.
“The high level of support from Smalls Corporate has been incredibly helpful in getting us started,” he said. “They sent a full squad of experienced workers from Baton Rouge and Prairieville to help open our restaurant. This helped our staff learn and get comfortable much faster than we could have alone.”
Gettys couldn’t say enough about the attitude of his own squad of workers, not to mention the city of Slidell government that has helped at every stage from the beginning.
“To open a new restaurant like this is very challenging for a new squad of workers,” he said. “But our staff, well, they have been incredible to make this opening go as smoothly as we could hope.”
He said that Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer, Chief of Staff Johnny Welborn, and members of the City Council have already visited to show their support. He also recognized the many city departments that were helpful and supportive to help them open according to schedule.
“I was really impressed with the attention from city government agencies,” he added. “The city planning department, fire department inspectors, the health department—you name it, your city has been incredibly helpful to us. We really appreciate that.”
Along with the cheeseburgers and fries, the menu offers specialty, hand-spun milkshakes along with other soda options. The store is also available to cater large or small events.
They are open on Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. You can find more information on Facebook.