Some people retire from public service and finally take the opportunity to slow down. Rodney Wilkinson apparently had other plans.
After more than two decades of public service, including serving as a Lieutenant with the Buffalo Fire Department and serving his country as a veteran of the United States Air Force, Wilkinson could have comfortably entered the next chapter of his life with a much quieter schedule. Instead, he found another way to serve people—this time through food, entrepreneurship and a restaurant built around the idea that the people walking through the door should feel less like customers and more like family.
That restaurant is The Fire Spot Restaurant, a Buffalo-area soul food and comfort food destination located at 2829 River Road, Buffalo, NY 14207. And if you spend enough time around Rodney Wilkinson, you begin to understand that The Fire Spot is about much more than food.
From the Firehouse to the Restaurant Business
Rodney Wilkinson spent more than 20 years in public service, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant in the Buffalo Fire Department. He is also a veteran of the United States Air Force.
His transition into the restaurant industry, however, was not entirely disconnected from his years as a firefighter. Wilkinson has said that he learned to cook in the firehouse, while some of the recipes and culinary influences behind his food also came from his family, including his mother, Ernestine. Over time, those influences were combined with Rodney’s own creativity and personality to create something distinctly his own.
The Fire Spot originally operated on Fillmore Avenue on Buffalo’s East Side. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilkinson received an opportunity to sell the building—an opportunity significant enough that he decided to accept it. But selling the building did not mean the end of The Fire Spot. Rodney eventually found another location in the former Suzy-Q’s Bar-B-Que Shack on River Road. Before opening the new restaurant, he redesigned the interior with a firehouse-inspired atmosphere—a fitting tribute to the career that occupied such a significant portion of his life.
The result is a restaurant where Rodney’s past and present meet. He may no longer be running into burning buildings, but he is still serving people.
As Wilkinson explains on The Fire Spot’s website, his new form of public service involves providing great meals at reasonable prices and watching people enjoy time with their families and friends. For someone who spent decades serving others, perhaps entrepreneurship was not such a dramatic career change after all.
“We Don’t Have Customers. We Serve Family.”
Perhaps the most important statement on The Fire Spot’s website has nothing to do with a particular dish.
It reads: “We Don’t Have Customers. We Serve Family.”
It would be easy for that to simply be a marketing slogan. In Rodney’s case, there is plenty of evidence that the philosophy extends beyond advertising.
Rodney is known for personally interacting with the people who visit his restaurant. Buffalo Rising described him greeting customers and knowing many of the people who walk through the door by name. When he isn’t cooking, he can often be found talking with guests and creating the kind of atmosphere that is increasingly difficult to reproduce in larger restaurant chains.
Look around The Fire Spot and you can also see another reflection of that philosophy. Photographs of firefighters, customers and people connected to the restaurant have become part of the environment. Those pictures help tell the story of the restaurant. They say that the people who come through these doors matter.
Rodney’s commitment to people also extends beyond paying customers. He has volunteered with Friends of Night People and has provided employment opportunities to people who needed someone willing to give them an opportunity. He has treated employees to outings and experiences and developed a reputation for treating his staff like family.
That is community service in another form.
What Rodney Wilkinson Has Meant to Me as a Business Owner
There is also a part of this story that I cannot tell strictly as someone writing about another Buffalo business owner.
I (Darren McDuffie) have had the opportunity to know Rodney as a client, but I have also had the opportunity to learn from him. As the owner of a small marketing agency, I understand firsthand how difficult and competitive this industry can be. Businesses constantly hear people say that they “support small businesses.” But support is more than a statement.
There is no greater demonstration of support for a small business than someone actually taking money from their own company’s budget every month and choosing to hire another small business.
Rodney did that for me and my company.
He chose to hire a small marketing agency right here in Buffalo, New York, and having Mr. Wilkinson as a client relatively early in my company’s growth meant more to me than simply having another account. Yes, it helped my business become profitable. But the value went far beyond revenue.
The countless meetings, phone calls and conversations Rodney and I have had throughout the years became something like real-world business courses for me. Without necessarily realizing it at the time, I was learning.
I learned more about the restaurant industry. I learned more about marketing a local restaurant. I learned about what business owners actually need from the people they hire. I learned about customer relationships, community reputation and the challenges that come with operating a small business. I also learned from our conversations about our respective experiences working for the City of Buffalo. Being able to have a front row seat of someone who worked for the City at a high level for well over 20 years, worked wonders for how I currently navigate politics as a Civil Servant.
There are lessons that cannot be learned from a textbook, YouTube video, marketing course or business seminar. Sometimes the best education comes from sitting across the table from someone who has already experienced things you are still learning to navigate.
For me, many conversations with Rodney became exactly that and I will continue to be grateful for his kindness and simply pouring into me even while being busy fulfilling orders in his restaurant.
Support That Goes Beyond Words
This is one of the reasons I believe Rodney’s story deserves recognition.
People often talk about circulating dollars within their community and supporting locally owned businesses. But that concept only works when people actually participate in it. Rodney Wilkinson did. His restaurant generates revenue by serving people throughout Buffalo and Western New York. In operating that business, he has created opportunities for employees, purchased goods and services and hired other businesses—including mine.
That creates a ripple effect.
When a small business owner hires another local small business, the impact doesn’t necessarily stop with those two companies. That revenue helps another entrepreneur pay employees, purchase services, advertise, invest in equipment, and support a family. That is what supporting small business looks like in practice. Once again, I will always be thankful that Rodney decided my company was worthy of being part of that cycle.
More Than a Restaurant Owner
When you look at Rodney Wilkinson’s journey as a whole, several titles could accurately describe him.
Firefighter.
Lieutenant.
Air Force veteran.
Entrepreneur.
Restaurant owner.
Community supporter.
Employer.
Mentor.
But perhaps the common thread connecting all of them is service.
For decades, Rodney served people through the Buffalo Fire Department and the military. Today, he serves them in a different way. Now it might be a plate of chicken and waffles instead of turnout gear. It might be shrimp and grits instead of a fire engine.
It might be greeting a longtime customer by name, giving someone a job when they need an opportunity or creating a welcoming place where people can sit down and feel comfortable.
The uniform and the setting may have changed, but the underlying principle appears remarkably similar.
Serve people.
Visit The Fire Spot Restaurant
For anyone who has not experienced The Fire Spot Restaurant, this is the type of locally owned establishment worth discovering. Come for the chicken and waffles. Try the shrimp and grits.
Order the fish, ribs, wings or one of the restaurant’s specialty dishes. Add macaroni and cheese, greens or yams on the side. And if the banana pudding is available, you might want to grab one before somebody else does.
But while you’re there, take a moment to look around. Look at the photographs. Talk to the people. And if Rodney is there, say hello.
Because behind the menu is the story of a man who spent decades serving his country and his city and then decided that retirement wasn’t going to stop him from serving people.
The Fire Spot Restaurant
2829 River Road
Buffalo, NY 14207
Phone: 716-835-3473
Website: thefirespotrestaurant.com
The restaurant serves breakfast, soul food, seafood and classic comfort food, with dine-in, takeout and delivery options available. Current hours and ordering information should be confirmed directly through The Fire Spot Restaurant’s website.
