After a couple of years running a successful food truck, Low & Slow owners Jim Morrison, Angus Henderson and Angus Kiley rolled the dice on a bricks-and-mortar venue in 2015, and now, almost eight years on, the brand is embarking on its next phase.
This month, Low & Slow’s signature sauces and rubs are rolling out across SA supermarkets, ready to help you level up your home barbeque game.
“Basically, the idea came from our customers,” co-owner and director Angus Kiley tells Broadsheet. In 2020, Low & Slow launched a satellite store on Leigh Street, just weeks before Covid-19 lockdowns emptied the surrounding office towers. Regulars were craving the Low & Slow experience at home, and according to Kiley, the team found they “suddenly had plenty of time to develop another side of the business [including] an online retail store”.
Food SA – an industry-led body repping South Australian food and beverage businesses – encouraged Low & Slow to present at a trade show in May 2022 which, at the time, felt surreal for the team. “We just had a prototype product. We didn’t have a whole warehouse of stock ready to go or anything,” Kiley says. With Adelaide being Adelaide, it wasn’t long before they fortuitously bumped into a loyal customer at the show, who was also a buyer for a string of Foodland supermarkets; soon the brand’s products were ranged across seven locations, including Pasadena, Frewville, Henley and Brighton.
Low & Slow’s Carolina Mustard “cuts through fat and goes well with everything from pulled pork to eggs for breakfast,” says Kiley. The Texan BBQ sauce is tomato-based and is best used as a glaze, or paired with brisket or steak. “They’re both pretty versatile. You can even just substitute them for normal mustard and ketchup,” he says.
Two newer additions are the Texas-style BBQ Brisket and Rattlesnake Blend spice rubs, for seasoning all kinds of slow-cooked meats and veg. Or follow the lead of Steph Berndt – Kiley’s partner (and restaurant manager at Low & Slow) – and sprinkle a little Rattlesnake on your Bloody Mary.
Low & Slow has partnered with Relish the Barossa on scaling up production, and Voice Design on packaging. “From initial contact to actually getting bottles off the machine, the whole process was pretty excellent,” Kiley says.
“Coming out of Covid-19, we’re trying to put our foot on the gas,” he adds. Trading hours at Port Adelaide have increased to seven nights, with three sittings each night – plus a bonus Saturday lunch service.
“People are showing us they’re ready to head out again,” says Kiley, and group bookings are also back.
It’s a feeling that’s echoed around the neighbourhood. “More and more people are definitely coming down to Port Adelaide – to look at Wonderwalls or stop in at Pirate Life or have lunch with us,” Kiley says. Berndt adds that the swell in residential developments is also attracting people to the area. “There are more people walking their dogs around [and] cafes like Banksia Tree and Dutch Coffee Lab are pumping,” she says. “Besides the submarine thing everyone’s talking about – there is a real sense that people are investing their lives in the area.”
Low & Slow
17 Commercial Road, Port Adelaide
Hours:
Mon to Thurs 6pm–9pm
Fri 5pm–9:30pm
Sat 12pm–2pm, 5pm–9:30pm
Sun 5pm–8pm
