It was a cold November day in late 2019 when Josh Shulman, co-owner with wife Shayna of Penticton eatery Smugglers Smokehouse and shop manager at Penticton cyclery Freedom Bike Shop, took his mountain bike to the trails of Campbell Mountain.
A couple hours later, Shulman hobbled into Penticton Regional Hospital. He'd hit a patch of ice and taken a brutal high-speed fall that he tried to correct by ramming his foot into the partially frozen ground. Instead, he shattered his heel bone.
Today, Shulman walks with a cane and can't stand up for more than a few minutes without experiencing serious pain. He has 13 screws and a steel plate in his massively injured foot and likely won't fully recover in the foreseeable future.
So he's made a tough decision.
"As passionate as I am about Smugglers," he said over the weekend, "I've reached a point with the fall that it's become a little overwhelming. So I'm exploring all sorts of options right now. Whether it's taking on a business partner, or searching for someone who's real enthusiastic to come in here and help me as an awesome employee, I'm listening."
"I've even thought about selling the place."
It's clearly not a situation Shulman wants to be in. The guy's an admitted workaholic, and in four years has built Smugglers and its unique southern barbecue tastes into a serious player in the Penticton restaurant scene.
And when he's not at Smugglers, he's across the street at Freedom Bikes. Or he's out there getting things done in the community. He's president of the Penticton BMX Club. He sits on the board of directors for Peach Fest.
In the summer, he runs a youth bike ride program and can be found at a wide variety of events and happenings throughout the city. His MC work at last year's BMX/skateboard festival Pentown Throwdown was masterful.
And while all of that may be impacted by the injury, his primary concern, understandably, is Smugglers.
"At no point have I had wads of cash to throw at this business," he said. "I can't afford to run a staff of nine like I see at some other places."
"It's a tight-run ship and now with the injury, I need a solid, hard-working partner going forward. Someone who's got skills and has game and is really passionate about wanting to be part of a really cool brand."
And for 2020, the plan was to expand on that brand.
"This year we have more weddings booked than we've ever had," he said of Smugglers' catering service. "And we were also toying with doing a deli thing here. Selling the sauces and the pickles, and putting our signature lemonade and ice tea into bottles and growing the brand awareness even more."
How all of that comes together now is the big question. Shulman can be reached at [email protected].
