Episode 121 // James Yates of Steerfish Steak & Smoke

Oct 7

On today’s podcast we’re with James Yates of Steerfish Steak & Smoke in Spearfish, South Dakota (pop. 10,494). James has been in the restaurant business since he was a kid and he actually had no plans of opening a new restaurant in Spearfish...until he saw this incredible historic building, and the rest is history. James is sharing with us a lot about entrepreneurship, following your passion, and of course the incredible menu at Steerfish.

And here’s the fun back story on this interview. My friend Joni and I were in the Black Hills for a conference and found ourselves in Deadwood looking for a place to eat. It was around 6:30 on a weeknight and we checked about five different places to find out no one was seating anyone else for the night, and it wasn’t even that busy. So we changed plans to see if we could find a place to eat in Spearfish, since we were staying in that area. That’s when we found Steerfish Steak & Smoke, and we knew from the minute we walked in this was exactly the kind of place we were looking for. Steak, trout, jalapeño poppers, cornbread muffins, you name it — I mean, we really hit the jackpot! We were so impressed that we knew we had to try to find the owner and get an interview. We were heading out of town the next morning, but the manager told us to come by early, knock on the door, ask for James, and see if he would be up for it. He said yes on a whim and you can hear how the rest unfolds in the interview!

Find your love and your passion and go for it.

— James Yates

If you or your friends are planning a trip to the Black Hills, make sure to plan for a meal (or two!) at Steerfish Steak & Smoke! Yes, it’s that good! We put together a Black Hills Road Trip where you’ll find Steerfish Steak & Smoke on the list, as well as some other great locations we loved around the Black Hills!

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