InTouch with Southern Kentucky March 2020 | Page 31

CARLA SLAVEY I CJ
The people behind the launch of Somerset’s Slim Chickens are seen here outside the building on the day
before opening. Pictured are, from left: Sherman Dotson, Diane Dotson, Tresa Dotson and Ryan Dotson.
area’s ability to attract tourists.
“I think Lake Cumberland’s really
going to be a huge draw for us.
That’s a big piece of the puzzle.
One of the reasons we came here
is because of the lake traffic and
everybody coming in to enjoy the
amenities that Somerset offers,”
Dotson said.
In fact, the Winchester resident
admits that he sees huge potential
in this little corner of Kentucky.
“When I started coming down
here, after buying the Steak ‘n
Shake, it put me in mind of a Pigeon
Forge or a Sevierville 15 years ago.
All this place needs is some enter-
tainment. You have the lake, which
is a draw. You have people who
come here just specifically for that,
and you’ve got the eateries here,
the restaurants. Now, if you had the
M arch 2020
entertainment – trampoline park,
maybe a couple shows down here
...”
The mention of Steak ‘n Shake is
a reminder that Slim Chickens isn’t
Dotson’s first Somerset-area busi-
ness venture. He bought it around a
year ago, taking over from a previ-
ous owner.
That single restaurant has kept
him busy enough. He candidly ad-
mits that he has had an uphill battle
in correcting some of its issues.
“It had a lot of problems, and I
took it over and have been working
on correcting all those issues. And
we’re almost to the point of doing
a grand reopening. We’ve been
reupholstering the furniture. We’ve
been cleaning the store, getting it
ready, retraining the servers. That’s
been the biggest problem with Steak
‘n Shake, is the service. And it’s cor-
porate-wide. It’s not just a Somerset
problem.”
The Somerset one isn’t the only
Steak ‘n Shake he owns, though. He
has one in Mt. Sterling and one in
Winchester. He also owns a pizza
place in Mt. Sterling called Toma-
toes and Flames, which he says he
is looking to possibly franchise out.
But Somerset was the pilot for
Slim Chickens. Dotson has a three-
store deal with the company, and
has another three and a half years
to create the other two.
“We’re unsure where our next
location will be,” he said. “We’ve got
an idea of where we’d like to be, but
we’ve just got to find the right real
estate deal that makes sense for us.”
I n T ouch with S outhern K entucky • 31