America’s Best Restaurants to Film at Geneva’s Redman’s Chicken and Ribs

Redman, Kelly — Redman's Chicken and Ribs
Paul Szmal 7:38
Black man and woman in matching red uniforms and headwear stand arm-in-arm outside a red business building.
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A Geneva soul food staple is getting national attention — America’s Best Restaurants is coming to Redman’s Chicken and Ribs on Preemption Road to film a segment on Wednesday, April 23, from 2 to 5 p.m., and the public is welcome to stop in and be part of the action.

Redman and Kelly, the husband-and-wife team behind the restaurant, joined the FLX Morning Podcast to talk about the filming and the 16-year journey that brought them to this moment. The show’s crew will be capturing the kitchen, the food, and — most importantly, according to Redman — the smiles on customers’ faces. When the segment will air has not yet been determined, but the owners say they’ll share that information once it’s confirmed.

The restaurant itself is something of a local origin story. Redman spotted a run-down hot dog stand on Preemption Road, negotiated a rental agreement for $120 a week with the previous owner, Jim Sisery, and opened with a vision of bringing soul food to a region that had none. Three years in, he received approval from the Town of Geneva to build, and he and two friends constructed the restaurant themselves. It has been expanding and thriving ever since.

The menu centers on Southern-style chicken and ribs, with Redman’s fried chicken being the signature draw. He credits the quality to a simple but uncompromising rule: nothing goes in the fryer until a customer orders it. Every piece is cooked fresh to order. Side dishes like the mac salad — made with Miracle Whip and egg, with a distinctly Southern flavor — have also built a loyal following.

Redman says the customer base stretches far beyond Geneva. Last month alone, visitors from Pakistan and Africa stopped in, and Hobart and William Smith College parents regularly seek the restaurant out when dropping off or visiting students. He noted that Redman’s is believed to be the only minority-owned restaurant within roughly an hour of Geneva.

Looking ahead, Redman says he’d love to open additional locations if the right investor comes along. For now, the focus is on tomorrow’s filming. Find Redman’s Chicken and Ribs on Facebook for hours and updates, or stop by the restaurant on Preemption Road in Geneva.

Read Full Transcript

Paul Szmal: Got a treat for you. We've got Redman and Kelly in the house from Redman's Chicken and Ribs. That's right around the corner from our studios on Preemption Road. And that's been there how many years now, Redman?

Guest: 16 years.

Paul Szmal: Wow. That's staying power right there, man. Thank you so much. And you got some big doings happening tomorrow.

Guest: Yes, we have America's Best Restaurant coming in tomorrow. From two to five, they're going to be filming what we do for the public. And how happy we make everybody smile.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, absolutely. Kelly, that means there's going to be a lot of prep going into the activities that happen tomorrow, right?

Guest: Yes, it is. We'll be very busy and very excited. What time do you usually get in to start your day?

Paul Szmal: Like about 10 o'clock.

Guest: Okay, that's not too bad. But tomorrow, you're going to wind up having to cook maybe a little more than usual because you're going to have the lunch rush. And then obviously, they're going to want to shoot, you know, video of the food or the kitchen of people eating the food, talking to people about how good the food is, all that stuff and everything. So that's going to be a busy day for you all tomorrow.

Paul Szmal: Oh, yeah. So now talking about staying power, you started this whole deal 16 years ago. What was the initial goal for you?

Guest: The initial goal back then was we didn't have any soul food restaurants around. And I just had this glitch from a childhood that I always wanted a restaurant. When I saw the opportunity, I jumped at it. And 16 years later, we're still there. And it started small. It's still small, but it is bigger than it used to be. You did expand there a few years ago. It started as a dilapidated hot dog stand on the side of the road and a stone parking lot with weeds all over the place. I talked to the guy that owned it. His name was Jim Sisery. He told me he'd rent it to me for $120 a week. And three years later, we got approval from the town of Geneva to build. And I started building, me and two of my friends built that entire restaurant. And it's just been a success story ever since.

Paul Szmal: Now, for people that aren't familiar with Redman's chicken and ribs, I mean, chicken and ribs, that kind of tells the story. As you said, it's soul food. It's southern food.

Guest: Yes, it is. And we knew when we started off that we were the only ones that had that type of food in the area. And my wife will tell you that I said back then that failure was not an option. I wasn't going to quit for anything. And the recipes come from your family?

Paul Szmal: The recipes, I like to say, are my mama Anne's. And then Kelly's tweaked some things throughout the years. And we haven't cooked anything yet that the public hasn't liked.

Guest: Yeah, we just had Redman's food here this past Friday, the famous fried chicken that you are so well known for. And I know everybody has their own spin, their own little unique characters when it comes to something like fried chicken. Without spilling the goods on any of the secrets, what can you tell us about what you do that makes yours unique?

Paul Szmal: My chicken is unique because we will not put it in the fryer until you ask for it. That's right. Cooked to order.

Guest: Yeah, it's cooked to order. No matter how many pieces you want, it comes straight out of the fryer onto your plate.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, I mean, it still was simmering hot when it got here. And it came from down the street up, you know, big, big, like, you know, catering pan. That's the name of the game.

Guest: Yeah, absolutely. So any plans to go perhaps beyond the location that you have right now?

Paul Szmal: Well, me and Kelly have definitely proven that we have the staying power. And it would be lovely if I could get an investor to help me open up a couple more. So I give some of these chicken houses a run for their money.

Guest: You are nothing if not short of ambitious. Even after even after all these years. You call me the eager beaver.

Paul Szmal: Yeah. And you know, it's not just I know you're known for the chicken. But the the side dishes in particular, the max salad that you do. I'm I'm a big fan of a non mayo base macaroni salad, which yours I believe is more of a vinegar base. Or no, it's, it's, it's Miracle Whip. It's, it's that.

Guest: Okay. Okay. No vinegar at all. No, I but I love the consistency of it. The fact that it's almost got kind of the relishing going on.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, it's if you've had if you've had max salad, that's another thing where everybody kind of has their own spin on it. This is a max salad with egg.

Guest: Yep. But it tastes completely different from anything I've ever had. That's that southernness in it.

Paul Szmal: Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. So so tomorrow from two until five is when the folks from America's best restaurants going to be there. Do we know when that's going to air?

Guest: Nope, we'll know that tomorrow. And we'll be in contact with you with further details.

Paul Szmal: Okay, beautiful. But people are free to stop in, get some chicken and be a part of the festivities and allow me and Kelly to make you smile.

Guest: Absolutely. I have a feeling we're going to have the Geneva police directing traffic tomorrow. I'm gonna have to detour around to be able to go home from here tomorrow.

Paul Szmal: Amen. But what keeps you going after 16 years of doing this?

Guest: I just love to cook and we meet people literally from around the world. Last month we had people from Pakistan. We get people from Africa plus all over the United States. Matter of fact, there's a couple in just last night bringing their kids up to go to Hobart and William Smith College. And they always stop in and when people come to town, they're always tourists. And me and Kelly come out and sit and talk to them. And before they leave, they're taking their picture with us and everything.

Paul Szmal: Speaking of that, how many of the how many of the Hobart college students migrate their way over?

Guest: Once the word is out, they come continuously. But if if the word's not out, then when the parents come into town, they'll Google and when they see soul food, they come.

Paul Szmal: Ah, okay. I've got to figure that it's going to be one of those word of mouth things on the campus where it's like, hey, you gotta go check this place out, man. It's it's and you are, if memory serves correctly, the only minority owned restaurant in town.

Guest: Only minority restaurant within an hour or so radius, I believe.

Paul Szmal: Yeah, that's fantastic. So I wish you the best of success, not only tomorrow, but in the future. And thank you for, as you say, making people happy here for 16 years, man. We appreciate it.

Guest: I appreciate you guys very much as well.

Paul Szmal: All right. That is Redman's Chicken and Ribs. And again, America's Best Restaurants is going to be shooting a segment there for their program tomorrow from two until five. It's on Preemption Road in Geneva. You guys have a website or you on Facebook or?

Guest: We're on Facebook.

Paul Szmal: All right. So look up Redman's Chicken and Ribs on Facebook and that'll give you the information if you happen to be coming from out of the area and you want to check out some good grub.