‘We are not fast food. We serve quality food as fast as we can.’ Ski Daddy’s coming to Owensboro

September 23, 2022 | 12:09 am

Updated September 22, 2022 | 10:05 pm

Ski Daddy's | Photos provided

After nearly two decades of success in Muhlenberg and Logan counties, Ski Daddy’s is coming to Owensboro by way of both a food truck and permanent location. The restaurant will be at 1230 Crabtree Avenue and will specialize in wings, tenders, fried catfish, gourmet baked potatoes, gyros, and house-made sauces. 

Joe Ray owns and operates the restaurant with his daughters, who have been coercing him to open an establishment in Owensboro. The family will open the food truck on September 29, with the restaurant opening once renovations are complete. 

“Everyone has been talking about it, and the girls have finally coached me up,” Ray said. “My kids moved up here a couple of years ago and finally got me here. We’ve had a great response from the people here.”

Another one of Ray’s specialties is his fried corn on the cob, a recipe he inherited from his grandmother. He said she wrote her recipes on the back of her cabinets, and he regretfully didn’t jot down as many as he would have liked. 

“My culinary inspiration definitely comes from my grandma, and this corn on the cob will blow your socks off,” he said. “I lived with my grandma in high school, and every time Thanksgiving came around, I would hover over her to try and find out why everything tasted so good.”

Ray is adamant about passing his recipes and business knowledge down to his daughters, who he said are already a step ahead of the game. 

“This will ultimately be theirs,” he said. “They are on top of the marketing and business plan. Once the restaurant open, we plan to begin traveling to subdivisions and offer two to three locations at a time.”

Ski Daddy’s crafts its wings in a unique spicy blend and offers them with ski sauce, ranch, blue cheese, honey mustard, and barbecue sauce. They take a different approach to their catfish, and while Ray didn’t reveal any secrets, he said it would “hook you like a fish.”

Ray and his team abide by the motto of “we are not fast food, we serve quality food as fast as we can.”

“We’re taking baby steps and making sure we do everything right as far as local and state requirements and health code,” Ray said. “I’m excited, my daughters are excited, and we want all of Owensboro to taste our food – we think they’ll love it.”

September 23, 2022 | 12:09 am

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