Clearly Said
On Clearly Said Podcast, we connect with entrepreneurs, sports fans, and life situations who are making a real impact in life, business, and sports. We share these stories to motivate and inspire you to take action in your life. Now kick back and enjoy the show whether you are relaxing, working out, or on-the-move.
Clearly Said
Behind the Bite Exploring Flavor and Fortitude with Big Tae Eats
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And from my sports background, my coach was hard ass. I remember one time man we only losing probably about three points, he walked into a dressing room you a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch. Everybody on the team, and you know, coach Kofi. Yeah, we're like real talk. Come in, coach Everybody. Beat y'all some bitches, y'all some pisses. Probably a co payment. I don't get it. Real talk.
Speaker 2:Come in cold, everybody bitches y'all, some bitches y'all some bitches.
Speaker 1:Why we copain? I don't get it.
Speaker 3:All right, everybody, look, we're back. Let me clear my throat, so everything I say can be clearly said right here. And we got the man, the myth, the legend, big Tate East on the set with us today. Man, how you feeling?
Speaker 1:Feeling good, man Feeling good.
Speaker 3:Good, good, good man, I'm glad to have you here. Look, I'm Josh. I'm Chad Boom. Look this Clearly Said podcast. We finna get straight into it. This is much anticipated. We've been trying to get you here for a minute, but you know what I'm saying. Timing is perfect. You made his wait on timing and I think this is going to be a good time to do this man. So tell us a little bit about yourself, including your sports background, because I didn't know you was a hooper.
Speaker 1:What do you want to know first? There's so much about me.
Speaker 3:Tell me kind of, tell me kind of how Big Tay Eats became the Big Tay Eats he is is right here how your childhood affected you okay, uh, I come from a family of cooks, essentially for the food background.
Speaker 1:Mom owns a restaurant. Everybody, all family members, all of them can cook, so that food background has always been there. I've been in the kitchen for about working wise, I have 10 years of experience, so just food, it's just something, a passion that I just normally just been doing. As far as going to try restaurants, that's a hobby me and my wife had. We've always had a hobby of just wanting to try new restaurants. My best friend, jaws, came to me one day saying man, let's make a YouTube channel, and that's how I started. I decided to start doing food reviews in front of a camera. You know, he brought that idea to me and that's kind of how it all started.
Speaker 3:I love it, man, you from this area, yeah, from Vaughn.
Speaker 1:Mississippi.
Speaker 3:Okay, good deal, good deal Now. Did you play basketball football, baseball.
Speaker 1:When people look at me they say, oh, you got to play football, but I didn't get big to college. Basketball was my sport man. I played football At a younger age, but basketball All the way through.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I got you Good deal. I was just saying Did y'all hoop, or?
Speaker 1:was it.
Speaker 3:AAU type deal no no, not with him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like he said, before we got on camera when we played His school, he was two years Younger. I was yeah, he was a manager okay but we know some of the same people because we I played on the au team with a couple people sometimes, when I play on front street, I went to chas as well.
Speaker 1:So that's, that's clear.
Speaker 3:Yeah, gotcha now. You mentioned jaws. Who is jaws?
Speaker 1:jaws is um. He has his own food critiquing thing. He does food reviews as well in the area, but he does on blog style.
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, that's basically it really I got you, and so you and him started on youtube together yep, we did.
Speaker 1:We started on youtube in 2022 and, um, we got monetized. First on facebook. We said we started out doing video content. Then we got monetized on facebook. Well, let's start on focusing on facebook. At first, we took a picture of a restaurant, got tracks and, okay, started getting big, started taking pictures of restaurant food, it just we just kept growing it and our brand name was it's jaws and tay. So that's basically how. That's how that started. Now, how I came apart to big tay eats. I was the one doing about 85% of the reviews on that page. I mean, of course, I am basically an entrepreneur. I have more flexibles like I was doing. It was kind of hard for him to do the reviews like I was doing, but I knew to keep the success, you gotta upload In that type of media. You gotta upload every single day. You gotta drop content. Got to Every single day. I got you. You've got to drop content. Got you Every single day.
Speaker 3:That's the quickest way to grow. I'm glad you said something about social media. Before social media, in order for somebody to be an actual food critic, they had to take culinary classes, they had to get a degree, they had to write papers, they had to do blog style. It takes a professional I think what they say 20,000 hours to become a professional. Yeah, what would you say? Gives you the validity to offer your opinion on food and put it out publicly.
Speaker 1:That is something that I'm glad you asked that. First off, because this is to my haters now I do not claim to be a professional food critic or a food connoisseur. I am just a guy with a camera that just goes around giving my opinion, sharing my experience and telling you what I think that's essentially what I do now.
Speaker 1:In this day and age it's a lot easier because of social media. It's easier to become a social media food critic and the old school folk critic or the old school food critic that is kind of becoming outdated because people watch now right back then they wrote columns and things of that nature. Today it's a day and age of social media and it's a lot of social media food critics. Now we just pick up the phone and start recording. That's essentially it.
Speaker 3:I got you.
Speaker 1:Some people don't like when we share our opinion or experience, but it is what it is. It's your opinion, it's my opinion. You got a right to it.
Speaker 3:Right, I was going to say so. How much of food critic do you think should be subjective and how much of it do you think should be objective? Because you think should be subjective and how much of it do you think should be objective Because everybody's?
Speaker 1:taste is different to a certain extent. That is a great question. That's why I always encourage my videos. This is my experience.
Speaker 1:You may experience something totally different. Always try to, because I don't want to and I don't. My intent is to never bash a business, never to bash, because, coming from somebody who has had a restaurant, sometimes there's certain things you need to hear to improve to hopefully save your business. And from my sports background, my coach was a hard ass. I remember one time man we only losing probably about three points. He walked into a dressing room you a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch. I remember one time man we only losing probably about three points. He walked into a dressing room you a bitch, you a bitch, you a bitch. Everybody on the team you went crazy. Do you know, coach Coffey? Yes, yeah, like real talk. Come in, call everybody bitches, y'all some bitches, y'all some pussies.
Speaker 2:Why would Coach Paywood?
Speaker 1:I don't give a fuck about nothing else y'all doing. Can I cut? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't give a fuck about what y'all doing. Y'all some bitches and just throw them out. Literally, we all coming in, okay, because we supposed to be getting blown out right now. We know we supposed to be getting our ass whooped. Yeah, we was young, we didn't have no seniors. We all juniors and sophomores and freshmen. We have no seniors on our team. So you know, we in a good little spot, come in, fuck off y'all. Y'all some bitches, get out.
Speaker 3:I don't want to see y'all. I don't know how you're going to get home, how you're going to get home.
Speaker 1:Basically it, and then we lost the game. Y'all damn show some bitches, don't get on your phone, don't ask for no food, don't ask for no food If it didn't feel like this oh no, I'm not going to. Mcdonald's. Oh no, that shit over. No, that's dead.
Speaker 3:That's funny.
Speaker 1:But coming from that background, coming from him, he had a big impact on my life. He did not care about the good, he only was worried about your weakness, the bad. And that response to somebody being harsh with you, being brutally honest, that's how I respond to it. I don't respond to people saying you're doing good. People walk up to me all the time man, you're killing it In my mind. Man, I got to catch them.
Speaker 1:That shit go off the window. Man, I got to catch them. So when I critique these restaurants and I'm harsh or I'm being blunt, that's how I want somebody to be to me, that's how I'm actually going to react to it, because the good is going to be there. Let me focus on the bad, so you can get that better.
Speaker 2:Yes, I got you.
Speaker 3:Now you've had a restaurant before.
Speaker 2:Can you?
Speaker 3:walk us through why that experience was not successful.
Speaker 1:My restaurant didn't fail because my food was trash, because I got people who comment on my posts. Oh, you just hating Because your shit failed this and that. That's not the reason. Okay, 2021. I had a restaurant which I still cook Under the same name today Pete Covey.
Speaker 3:I was just saying Pete Covey time.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, Pete Covey time, during the pandemic. We were in a Terrible location for one and we were in a terrible market for two. I was also young at the time as well, so my mom had a restaurant, wanted to be like her and me and my wife, we just jumped in at that. At that time we're 24, 23 years old, fresh out of school, we just love to cook. We didn't understand or even had a grasp for the business aspect of the restaurant Managing money, property, marketing, which is a big thing. The food was not the issue, it was marketing and poor business management. And, of course, which is still a problem today, is finding employees to work. That is a big problem in restaurants right now and that was even it was a problem back then.
Speaker 1:So at that time we was working, we was open 7 days a week. We'd be there 7 days a week, open to close nine to 12 every day, and at that time man it was so, we were so into it. I didn't see my daughter for a whole month because we was just restaurant, restaurant, restaurant, restaurant. You gotta run here get supplies, run here to get supply got it was somebody called out, somebody always called out. So those few things we just got out and we just decided to end it, end it all together. So another reason why Jaws came to me with the idea he was like man maybe if somebody would have critiqued your food or give you some advice or did this, maybe they could have saved your restaurant and that kind of fuel while we started at is jaws and tay brand per se.
Speaker 3:So so do you think that? And two things do you think you would have been open to somebody critiquing your food or critiquing your business? Because we know that you've already said that the food was good, but it was the business.
Speaker 1:Right is the reason why the restaurant didn't succeed I would have been open to both, because sometimes the truth hurts and sometimes you need to hear that truth. But, man, that's a great question.
Speaker 3:I'll say this. I think it's a stat that says and Trey, I want to react to that video right after this question, if you don't mind, unless y'all got something to say.
Speaker 2:No, no, because I want to react to that video right after this question, if you don't mind, unless y'all got something to say no, no, because I want to see it.
Speaker 3:95% of restaurants fail within the first five years. What advice, from what you've been through and what you know now, would you give to somebody getting ready to start a restaurant? Because we had a local restaurant here that I really enjoyed and it's no longer open and I could see from the outside looking in some of the things that this restaurant owner struggled with. You talked about not having people that work there Good service man. It's hard to come by at a restaurant for one. You know what I'm saying. People don't get paid a lot to be a waiter and a waitress. But also, you know what I'm saying, you need good waiters and waitresses. So what advice would you give those people? Because it's like a thing like damned if I do, damned if I don't.
Speaker 1:So the very first thing I would say is, if you're going into the restaurant industry, starting out, I would have at least three or four months worth of savings already saved up for a rainy day, because for that first year as a restaurant owner you're not going to see any profit. The restaurant industry is one of the worst industries as far as profit. You make a lot, but so much of that money goes to the upkeep of the restaurant employees. All the cups and forks and all that stuff, all the little stuff you don't think about. That shit adds up, yeah, quickly salt and pepper.
Speaker 1:So, and that was enough. It was like we had to choose are we gonna keep this restaurant open or are we gonna pay our bills? Right, and we chose our bills. But the first thing have money saved up for your personal life, your personal bills, that does not go towards the restaurant. Secondly again it was a I'm I'm misquoting somebody, but you got to have that chick-fil-a mindset to where you have. It's going to be hard to pay people. Yeah, so to have that, have you know, hire cousins, family members to help you trying to get this off the ground I don't, I don't see that working.
Speaker 3:I know which is kind of a back end.
Speaker 1:I know like right now I don't like working with family yeah 100, but that was just an old quote of what the owner of chick-fil-a did years ago until they got to be, until they got bigger.
Speaker 3:I think you're saying people, people in the family that agree with you yes, I got you.
Speaker 2:Don't let me ramble on, they roll chad.
Speaker 3:Take it away, man, because I I have been wanting to kind of yeah, so kind of react to that, right there just to see it, because I I try not to well, no, I'm saying us see it on set with you because I saw it and I took it as comedy, not a personal attack on somebody, but but man, that was funny bro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know. Come with your line of work of what you do. You know, like you said, you just give me your opinion, your thoughts on what you, how the food tastes to you, but you know what comes with. That is a lot of negativity. Come back to you. Like people talk about your appearance, how you look or the way you talk, anything like that. So you know, you know you clap back at them one day on Facebook. So you know we had went and dug up the video.
Speaker 4:First off, before we look at it, what made you real deal say all right, this person, this particular person. I'm finna, get on their ass. Man, let's spice this up.
Speaker 1:What made you think that I just had put out a bad review, a negative review, on a place called Highland Hog and Grenada?
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 1:And my cousin sent me a post on my messenger. She was like she on you, she didn't come for me. Under my post, she shared it saying you need to get your teeth fixed per se. You know why you worried about it. So you know what. Let me click on a profile. Oh, hell no.
Speaker 2:We're going to play the video, so everybody can see.
Speaker 3:Yeah, let's see it.
Speaker 1:Spawning to your comments. Part one If your teeth is derailed, you have a lot more than being a foodie to be considering. You need to see a dentist ASAP. You got bigger fish to fry. Probably can't taste from all those faces and craters. Now, latosha, latosha.
Speaker 3:No eyebrows.
Speaker 1:When I seen that shit, I was like ain't no damn way, oh, okay, nah, I'm good Y'all gonna say I'm in the wrong, but she came for me first. I don't see her. I don't see your eyebrows, do you? But wait, there's more. Natasha, who told you?
Speaker 3:that I can't go outside.
Speaker 1:Who told you it was okay to wear this this?
Speaker 2:This is a two-piece. Oh, my Lord.
Speaker 4:Hey, she look like a Natasha, don't?
Speaker 1:But wait, there's more, hey, she look like a Latasha, but wait there's more Now, fellas, this is nothing now I don't have a man, but if I had one I know I'd miss him. Fellas, it's income tax season If you have not found you a woman yet. Latasha is single guys.
Speaker 2:She is single. She probably still single to this day.
Speaker 1:If you can. She is looking for a man, I said's probably still single to this day, if you can. She is looking for me latasha, I'm gonna hook you up. I'm gonna find you a man. Latasha, I love you. Right, he can't even taste the food good because he got teeth missing and he didn't get any tartar sauce. I worry about a lot of y'all's iq and this is like one of my number one comments. What the hell is having teeth have to do with this tongue in these taste buds on tasting food?
Speaker 1:I believe that this tongue is elite crazy and I'm sure she um, I'm sure she took that as a joke as well, right I would hope so. I told her you know I got your ass. You know you gotta admit I got your ass. She was like I don't care, your teeth still fucked. You know like I guess.
Speaker 2:So I don't, I'm not in trouble. She didn't think you would clap back.
Speaker 1:No, and she didn't think you should show that two-piece picture.
Speaker 3:Oh, oh no, yeah, you definitely got to be ready for people to respond.
Speaker 1:She just gave me too much ammo Right, too much ammo.
Speaker 3:I got to, I had to, I would leave, you never need to get disrespectful.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, it's not, you know you came for me, I come back for you.
Speaker 3:it's over with. You know what I'm saying Type deal, but that was really funny man.
Speaker 1:But if you're going to come for me, make sure you got eyebrows, guys, please. Make sure you got eyebrows Please.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's funny. Definitely I would love to see more videos like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, backlash for that. You're a professional come on bro, why are you putting this on your platform? We want food reviews. We don't want you jawing and down people like nah, keep that shit going yeah, I know that yeah, I.
Speaker 2:Want that that's what it's for yeah, but at least that is telling you that you got people that watch your videos. They do care. Yes, you know, I'm saying they do care because if they didn't care they'd be like oh man, just keep just keep going off on these folks but they ain't understanding Hell. Then you start losing supporters then, because you got to clap back at every one of them.
Speaker 1:Now I'm not going to say I'm not going to do it, but I will be. I'm still going to do it. I just can't make it a weekly thing.
Speaker 3:If you feel the need to address something, you'll address it and then move forward Right off camera. You know, I'm saying we were talking a little bit getting ready and you said that this is going to be your cat williams moment. Well, we hope this is your cat williams moment. How do you respond, because we just saw that, but how do you respond in totality to people taking shots at you personally and not looking at the substance of the food review?
Speaker 1:initially I laugh, I laugh at it. The shit really is coming like because again, when I say about my teeth, y'all, just y'all. I, I said something to make you mad and you're trying your absolute best to make me mad, I'm not gonna get mad I know you are, but what am I type deal like they just keep saying something.
Speaker 1:they just keep saying something so that that shit, it doesn't, it doesn't bother me at all, like, okay, your teeth, your teeth missing. I can get my teeth fixed, but I'm smart. Either you're going to talk about my appearance or you're going to talk about my review, but initially you're going to talk about me.
Speaker 3:And you're sharing and you like it and you're commenting, and you're commenting. And it's traffic to my page.
Speaker 1:You don't know. Y'all help me out so much and it's crazy they don't see that. They don't look at, they think about my delivery. They're not thinking about what I'm actually saying or things of that nature.
Speaker 2:So that is, and that's what haters don't realize. Uh-uh, like, when you go as far as to share somebody's stuff just to hate on it, you sharing it. You sharing it, so you're sharing to people that's going to see it and actually like it, or you comment on it.
Speaker 4:She ain't got no followers though.
Speaker 3:Huh, she ain't got no followers. We don't know that I was going to say, but it's it, only have to be she, at least got five people On her page that seen it and was like Facts I'm finna.
Speaker 2:Follow it and it get in the algorithm.
Speaker 3:It'll go to another friend. What you're saying, though, yeah, but, but the thing is is that they're sharing it, uh, and it's more traffic to your page, and so there's more eyes on you. Matter of fact, right now, I want y'all to take a second look at this ad. We're gonna tell you how you can follow big tay, watch big tay, support big tay. We'll be right back what's good, everybody.
Speaker 1:if you made it this far in the video, be sure to follow me on all my platforms at big tay eats instagram, t, facebook, youtube, same name on all platforms Big Tay Eats. Thank y'all, and we back.
Speaker 2:He didn't know about this. He didn't know about this. He had to get up there.
Speaker 4:That was funny. Alright, bro, what's up? Everybody we back. It's your boy, bone Josh.
Speaker 3:Chad we not starting the show and Tay Eats.
Speaker 4:Are we going yet, guys? Yes, oh, pick that up, and we better start over. Pick that up right there.
Speaker 2:This nigga think we came back To a regular show. This a whole nother episode, episode 9. He said it's bone.
Speaker 4:Alright, mike check.
Speaker 2:I gotta do just say we back.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, just say.
Speaker 2:And then go straight to the question.
Speaker 4:Alright, y'all, we back this, your boy Bone. Why did you do that? I'm good man, alright. Man, just go from right there, man, alright, look, alright man, we back right. Man, just go from right there, man, all right, look, all right man, we back in action. Man, this, your boy Bone, look. I got a quick question for you, tay East. Yes, sir, all right. Now, this is something that I've seen. I'm sure everybody on the podcast has seen this too. You went to Tier 1, and you had your own experience. Sure it is. Can you walk us through it? Okay, after you walk us through it, tell us about the uh, the backlash that you had, and do you regret anything about it?
Speaker 1:first off, I don't regret no review. First off, okay, um, everything was good up to the point has salmon. Salmon was good, macaroni was great, but I ordered a medium steak and the shit was raw. Okay, and basically from that reaction to that raw steak, that is what generated a lot of backlash from that video, gotcha. Do I regret anything? No, because whoever's in the kitchen cooking they deserve to know.
Speaker 3:Hey, you served me a raw ass steak, you know and you don't even regret using the word bullshit, because we talked about that was really the thing that caught everybody's attention yeah bullshit.
Speaker 1:Not that the review, it was just bullshit yeah, because I'm spending my hard-earned money and I'm getting served bullshit, which is another thing I want to say too. I don't make a dime from any of this social media shit. I spend my own money on all this shit. I literally spend thousands of dollars every month on food reviews, so I feel like that gives me the right to say what I want, how I want to, because I'm paying for it, and they let this shit go out the kitchen. So do they not feel the need to know how the shit actually tastes?
Speaker 1:right because food is not cheap.
Speaker 2:Ain't nothing cheap nowadays every damn thing is eggs three dollars ever since then.
Speaker 4:Did you go back to get another experience from it?
Speaker 1:not yet only because I'm so busy, I gotta move on to the next one. Right, I drop, I drop them every day. I really don't got time to soak on the last one, because now I'm on the, I gotta get to the next one. So, but as far as backlash goes, man, they came for me bad, they sent the side pieces and family members and every damn thing you said side pieces somebody I think one of the owner's wives, I don't know.
Speaker 1:In the she said she's not talking about me, but if you read her message you can say she was talking about me.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so you didn't get like a friendly invitation back.
Speaker 1:Hey, we sorry no, and this is another thing too I will not spare you if you invite me to your restaurant and you think I'm not gonna be 100% honest. I was invited to tier one. They wanted me to come.
Speaker 4:See, see, see, that's a different conversation.
Speaker 1:A lot of restaurants. They invite me. Hey, come, come check us out, come check us out. Then I come. The shit is bad. Now my opinion don't matter, but you wanted me to come to your restaurant. You wanted to be on my platform because you did ask. You did say, come check us out, but your shit was trash. So I'm the bad person for sharing my experience because I'm going. My ethnic duty is to share my experience. I'm going to be a hundred percent wrong to my followers because sometimes I save them money. A lot of times I just bring them awareness and that's my whole team goal. Yeah, and everybody ain't going to like that.
Speaker 4:And that's the best part, everybody have their own experience Because I ate there before and I had a great experience and that's the beauty about it. You know what I'm saying. But that particular time you had a raw steak which you was very verbal about it. So, hey, sometimes you just got to bite the bullet. But what do you have to say to them, like, about your experience?
Speaker 1:I, as always, I would never discourage anybody from trying to win. Eventually I will go back Eventually. It's all love on my side. You know it was somebody talking about you know you're not used to eating a hundred dollar steaks and some shit like that. How you gonna judge a hundred dollar meal here? Well, first off, the steak was only $29. The shit and it wasn't any damn shit wasn't worth a hundred dollars. The steak was skinny, I think it was. Her last name is Hughes, but I remember your comment.
Speaker 2:Cat Williams moment.
Speaker 1:Now I'm touching on that point. Cat Williams moment she said that I was trying to do a Kumbaya moment, but go ahead. Because she was like You're used to being raised On Hamburger Helper. You've probably never Been out of the state. I travel five or six times a year and I can guarantee you I have made more of my life than you will ever see in your life. Damn Period.
Speaker 2:Shit.
Speaker 1:I have commas in my bank account because that one. I was going to respond to her because she really tried to comfort me. You don't know anything. You used to hamburger helper. My mama never cooked hamburger. I don't know what that shit is.
Speaker 2:I do that. My mama never cooked hamburger.
Speaker 1:I don't know what that shit is. I do that shit. Good it is good, I don't critique it. I tried some when I got married, but she said you was lame In high school, bitch. I don't know you. I'm from Bartiman, you from Tupelo. We didn't go to school together. I don't know you that shit. Sharika Hughes. It was something, hughes.
Speaker 4:Miss Hughes, oh, he just eating the food, honey. We ain't talking about high school, and if you still living in high school, sweetheart.
Speaker 1:Like Tammies, here go another one. Tammies, you don't know good food because you eat ass. If I do eat ass, it's my business. This thing got so far.
Speaker 4:I eat ass too now, but I love food, that be coming from me.
Speaker 1:Bro, that is something, that is thing in my head. Y'all don't, you don't, you can't taste the food because you eat ass and shit like that. I never agreed to it or disagreed to it, but if I, that's my opinion. But that don't got shit to do with tasting the food. I agree. Type of shit. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:Like shit like. The personal that they can't like we just said earlier they can't get to the food review, and that's another thing I wanted to ask too was like word of mouth is super important on businesses and I know we talked about this, but when you get ready to go get food, do you ever fear that somebody is going to do something to your food? Because it's you?
Speaker 1:I don't have fear of that because traditionally I do not go get my food. I'll send. Most nine times out of ten I send my wife. Unless I'm absolutely by myself, I always send my wife. Um, if I had to get my own food by myself, I call it in and I put on a different name yeah so sometimes I wear some shades, maybe a hat, kind of disguise it, uh, which I only do that around mississippi restaurants right, because they hadn't really gotten to know you.
Speaker 3:They haven't gotten something.
Speaker 1:But to my surprise, when I started my memphis tour, I walked up to a food truck.
Speaker 4:She was like it's about time you came to memphis I said oh I'm just gonna be real tay you pushing up on A hundred thousand, bro. It's a shades and glasses bro, they ain't gonna really Just come on bro.
Speaker 3:Not in this area at all. They gonna be able to Identify you for sure. You know what I'm saying, and Memphis is really Just the biggest city In Mississippi. So Basically, basically, yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's, I caught that.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, but you know, but like. But this is what's crazy, though Like you're like, you have people go to these places that you don't review, now sat there ate, and they know their food wasn't all that good. When they ate it, they don't say nothing. They just keep going back, acting like the food is all that. Wait till you make a video about it. Then they get in the comments and say, well, yeah, you know, I did go two or three times. My food wasn't all that good why you didn't say it then.
Speaker 1:Why didn't you say it? Why didn't you publicize?
Speaker 2:yeah, I wouldn't wait till he get on there and they talk bad about him.
Speaker 3:Then you want to say it no, and they want somebody to break the ice yeah my dm's calling me a nigga because you had a bad experience with the er.
Speaker 1:With the er, hard uh, southern farm table. You want to pull that up. Southern farm table in florence with the er now that was the one time where I was actually afraid to go into the restaurant because I was the only black person there. I was the only one there so I was a little little nervous because a lot of eyes was on me. Man, they came from me hard on that video.
Speaker 4:White people did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because that's when they spies. I pull up, they parking lot is jumping, but the food was old. No season, no season, it was bad.
Speaker 3:I'm glad you made the point Not that you know whatever, because I've eaten some white people cooking. That was great.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, there was no knock to them. I love y'all. Some of y'all can cook Right. No knock to them.
Speaker 3:How do you differentiate, when you go to a predominantly a restaurant, that the predominant customer is African-American versus a majority white? How do you change your mindset when tasting food Like okay, this is white people's uh tuna, so it may have grapes in it?
Speaker 2:you know, what I'm saying versus black people tuna.
Speaker 3:It may not like. Do you change your mind or it's one set?
Speaker 1:I try my best to stay even keel because that that is a great question, because I have black-owned business owners or people that support black-owned business. Man, why are you gonna talk about that black-owned business like that for? And my answer isowned business man, why are you going to talk about that black-owned business like that for? And my answer is the same. I don't care if you're white, black, pink, purple, mexican, whoever, I'm still going to tell you how the food tastes from my opinion, gotcha, it's no personal vendetta against anybody whatsoever. It's never personal. But if your food is trash like Aunt B's when I had it that day, that was a big one. The community jump matter of fact that's how Chaz got on, man.
Speaker 1:He said man, man, you don't got no damn teeth, why you gonna say let's talk about it. I didn't comment Chaz sideways, cause the comment. That shit is funny to me, man, cause like I get it so much.
Speaker 2:It's the tooth, it's the teeth, it don't bother me but teeth, it don't bother me, yeah, but see mine, wasn't coming from no hateful place and everybody knows Tato, we worked together before at C-Spy, so like I know him, so like it ain't like me just saying, oh, this is me Reviewing the.
Speaker 1:Southern Farm Table in Florence, Alabama. Okay, I have history here. Exactly one year ago today, I reviewed this place and let's just say the food was not the best and they had a fly problem. A year later, the fly problem still exists. Oh man, you can even hear the fly popper in the kitchen popping because the flies are just popping, Killing the flies. That still exists. Let's see if the food has improved. Chicken and dressing. Chicken and dressing. Chicken and dressing.
Speaker 4:Hey, cornbread, did he open it?
Speaker 1:He fucked up oh my God, why taste like?
Speaker 2:that Lord. I taste like that. Oh my god, why it taste like that Lord? Why it taste like?
Speaker 1:that? No, I wouldn't feed my dog this bullshit. The texture is weird.
Speaker 2:It's like the cornbread didn't click all the way. That's cornbread.
Speaker 1:Some of the cornbread is a little moist and some of it is just solid chunks. No, moving on to the fried chicken Cooked in this old ass grease, it has a terrible aftertaste to it.
Speaker 3:Also.
Speaker 1:It appears that they batter this in the same batter that they do the fish. That is not it. Moving on to the catfish, first off, the fish is cold, tastes very fishy. Just caught this day and threw it in the grease. That's basically how it tastes. Oh man, got some collards Collards Fresh out of a can. Macaroni and cheese this is terrible, really. Don't taste any cheese, you just taste dry cold noodles. This is my second time coming here and I'm not bashing the business at all whatsoever. I'm realizing that I'm just not the target audience, but this place was busy for a reason. But if you're ever in Florence, alabama, give this place a try. A negative 10. It'll prove me wrong.
Speaker 3:But hey, that's big of you too, though, to go ahead and tell people have your own experience yeah. Go on and have your own experience, Because they may think different. I know the restaurant here that was owned by a black lady is no longer in existence. I don't believe it is. I know that that location is not man. I was really excited when she opened that business. I don't know if I should say the name or not, but anyway it went out of business.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of curious, can you say it? After Maze yeah, and it's no disrespect to her.
Speaker 3:I like her as a person. She's a great person. I will give her her flower.
Speaker 1:Miss Demetria is an awesome person and I enjoyed her food. We did a blog-style review on her man. She has some great food. In my opinion, she has some great food.
Speaker 2:Man, we went there for our class reunion.
Speaker 4:We had a great time, spent a lot of money too.
Speaker 2:Shot came, shot came right there he said look, I finna bring out this dish.
Speaker 1:And if I can say anything About that restaurant. I don't think the food was the issue. I don't either. I think it was the location People, especially of our color. They don't want to see Somebody else doing good or having something nice. She had a great location. Yes, the interior was great, the vibes were immaculate. She had a special thing, but that local support man.
Speaker 3:I don't think that's what it was and this is my opinion as an Ethel Mays fan. I promise you this is me trying to be as objective as possible. This is not an indictment on her or her business. First of all, I really liked the food Hell yeah, but the food was fire, the vibe was fire, but there was a really long wait. Most of the time, and not only the long wait, I felt like and I don't think it was so bad the location, because you got Kyoto right there, that does well.
Speaker 2:But I think that people didn't know if she was a fine dining establishment or if she was a lounge, because she tried to do both.
Speaker 3:And everybody that played football heard a coach say if you got two quarterbacks, you ain't got one, you got to pick what you're going to do, man you preaching, and if you're going to be a fine? Like I've been, I haven't been to a bunch of nice restaurants, but I've been to Capitol Grill, I've been to Houston's, I've been to a couple of they don't. It's not a fine dining vibe. So I think that was the problem. She didn't have a target audience, because there were times I would go in there and I would see an older white couple or two and they probably couldn't hear each other talk because the music was so loud so I don't know if you, if you, had an opinion on why that business did not make it or not.
Speaker 1:I hope that she watches the episode and maybe this will spark an idea for her in the future. Maybe pick one Focus solely on one thing or another, but that is a great statement and it's something I didn't think about actually.
Speaker 2:I ain't going to lie, I think of the restaurant shit, just like you said. It's a fine dining Because the food man I ain't gonna lie, that food, good Food, was very good. Like I left out of that, I said, man, I might be coming back.
Speaker 3:I know, man, my wife went Probably ten times. It was good. I mean, I don't think the restaurant was open A year and she made it.
Speaker 1:Just at that year. Okay, and that's when things started to go down. She made it just at that year.
Speaker 4:I ain't gonna lie, I had like like Brick and Spoons, when they be doing that live little band thing. I'd be ready to go, so that could be it. You know what I'm saying? I don't like the music, but the band was stuff was pretty nice, though Cause like she because, Like because the bands was good it just number one bruh Like we talked about it in the first episode.
Speaker 2:It's Tupelo. That's another thing, tupelo don't want to see you do too much more than what they think they want you to do.
Speaker 4:I'm sure she would've went anywhere else Starville, Memphis but she could've and you got a bigger crowd of people to come to evolving but she wanted to do it somewhere.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she grew up here.
Speaker 2:She's from here, yeah, so why sometimes? And?
Speaker 1:that's something too I want to pick it back off of too. Me and my wife where we live in boneville. We didn't get much love for my restaurant in boneville but man doing pop-ups and festivals we get major love everywhere sometimes you gotta go sometimes to my restaurant owners. Maybe it's not your food, maybe it's not your food, maybe it's just a location. People don't want to see you make it, because they know you Like I ain't going to go to them.
Speaker 2:Hey, once he get the tiptoeing, he tired. When he get the running, wow.
Speaker 1:Listen listen. He get the tiptoeing he ain't no track.
Speaker 3:We here real quick and talk about how y'all don't listen to Bone.
Speaker 3:Cut his mic off how y'all can support the podcast, okay, and kind of some things that people really don't understand. As far as how views and all that stuff go so real quick, we need everybody to do two things, bare minimum, when you're watching the video Like and subscribe. You got to like and subscribe, okay. And another thing hit the bell symbol. So if you want to get notifications about when we make new videos, when we post new shorts, all of that, hit the bell symbol and turn on all, or you can personalize it, but I would just say turn on all so you can get all of our content and a lot of people you can like and subscribe, but you got to make a YouTube account so you can subscribe.
Speaker 2:I was just going to say that. So make an account, subscribe, like and please hit that bell. And if you do, got an account, log in, log in. Log in, just watch it from, like. You know, sometimes you click on a link and it just takes you to the web yeah, from Facebook, like the web, and it have log in right there and y'all just want login. So just login, watch it like, subscribe, like he said, hit that bell and just comment. You know that's all we be asking. Like we don't want to sound like we be begging y'all because we ain't, but we are, at the same time, like we want your support but we want in in that way so it can benefit us and y'all definitely.
Speaker 1:It's funny how screen just supports you quicker than people.
Speaker 2:You've been what I was, just gonna say is is that enough?
Speaker 3:I saw a post on facebook a couple weeks ago and it says you know, as soon as you start a business, your family and friends should become your biggest promoter. And I said that's too much weight on friends and family because only your friends and family can't be enough.
Speaker 3:They aren't enough to keep your business afloat and make it successful. Only Tupelo wasn't enough. Me and my wife went to Ethel Mays several times. When I proposed to my wife, she allowed me to rent Ethel Mays out for a couple of hours and propose to her there. So we enjoyed the restaurant. But my thing was I didn't think she was able to branch out enough, because how many times are you going to eat at one restaurant in a month, Like you know?
Speaker 2:what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:We may come spend $100 with you, but that's once every two months, you know what I mean. It's not enough, and so I hope she's able to bring it back.
Speaker 1:But the vibe was the vibe and the food. I give both of them like a 9 out of 10. And that is another thing why I created my platform is to help drive traffic from other places, other state places or more places to bring awareness. I think that when they became aware that the marketing was a problem, it was too late.
Speaker 4:It was too late. Yeah, she had went on live and all that good stuff, bro. I was like bro, that's crazy you get to that point yeah it's already too late.
Speaker 1:Because she was like I need y'all to come support right right then. And there it's too late you can't be because everybody's gonna come that first weekend and it's gonna go right back down to nothing, yeah, right back.
Speaker 3:So and and I say you can't beg for support. I'm not saying that you can't ask people to support you. What I'm saying is, once you get to that point of having to ask people to come, it's probably too late. And man, I really hate that it closed because it was a beautiful establishment Tupelo.
Speaker 1:you let one step away. Nah, she did, she did.
Speaker 4:Y'all going to regret that for real, yeah.
Speaker 3:Another thing is, just like he said, both of y'all said you can go to a different area. My cousin, chris Parks, one time he said you trying to give Tupelo a vibe that they don't want. That's when somebody was trying to have an upscale event and it cost around $100 to go. And that's do we not want it, Are we not?
Speaker 2:ready for it? Will we be ready for it? It's just we ain't used to it. Are we not ready for it? Will we be ready for it? It just we ain't used to it, cause I know, since I Born and raised here, I we ain't had no upscale, nothing ever.
Speaker 4:From us, from like. They have they select people they wanna fuck with? Yeah, yeah, let's just be real. And then, when some people Do, throw these events.
Speaker 2:It's. It's only for these certain type of people, yeah, which it's only for these certain type of people, yeah, which sometimes I understand, because you can't invite everybody. Everybody know how to act.
Speaker 4:Facts yeah.
Speaker 2:But, give people a chance. You know what I'm saying, but I don't know man. Tubalow just, I love Tubalow, but Tubalow I don't know.
Speaker 3:How do we do fine dining here? Then, if we want to have fine dining for, let's say, a crowd of people that do also enjoy a nightlife, how do you do fine dining for them? Or can it just not be done in this area, or can it not be done in the same building, like she tried to do with Ethelman's?
Speaker 1:I don't think Tupelo is the area. I don't know man.
Speaker 3:That's sad.
Speaker 1:And because, picking back what you said, the nightlife, starkville and Archer, they have great nightlifes.
Speaker 4:Bro it's amazing.
Speaker 1:It was jumping 12. Clay was jumping, everybody in the Bay Area and Tupelo.
Speaker 2:You know, it's just, it's blah here.
Speaker 3:Well, I didn't know this until I saw it. It's a sign on the highway, I think, that says a certified retirement city. Did y'all know that Tupelo is a certified retirement city? I believe it.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I've been here since I was little.
Speaker 1:People come here after they retire and just and they trying to push the younger generation out man. They just tore down all them apartment complexes over there On Idaho. Yeah, it's that sign. You could not know. It was apartment complexes over there. It's a suburban neighborhood. Now they trying to push them out.
Speaker 3:I understand what they did with it used to be. What was it?
Speaker 2:Azalea Gardens, they changed the president's gate.
Speaker 3:I understand, because they had a lot of issues out of that, and what they were trying to do with Lawndale is what they did with Jackson I don't know if you paid attention or not was, quote unquote, gentrify the neighborhood, because 15 years ago you ain't just wasn't jogging up and down jack o'clock, and so I think they were trying to do that they jogged into a full sprint because you finna get up out of there facts they rose the prices of rent too, so they kicking us out bro facts, basically send them out of verona and shannon.
Speaker 1:We don't want that here, but are they?
Speaker 3:are they kicking the people out or are they raising the property value? So with me, with buying a house, you know what I'm saying, because I bought a house In 2017. Now I'm married and all this and all that, I did the Turning 30 skit. You really your mind changes.
Speaker 2:As you get older and you want other stuff. You ain't lying.
Speaker 3:I want my property value to go up, and so if I've got houses that look nicer, are newer, have people in them that are paying now my property value goes up, and so are they? Pushing people out, or are they trying to raise the value of the city?
Speaker 4:Well, that's I mean. I understand that, but majority of the top jobs we don't have, bro. So that means we can't afford the houses I don't have bro.
Speaker 3:So that means we can't afford the houses.
Speaker 4:I don't have a top job, but I'm just saying like us when I say us.
Speaker 2:You're talking about, like in general, Our culture.
Speaker 4:our black people Like we don't have the top jobs to even pay for the houses they putting on the actual property. No, that's true so if they raising the property, you know value. If they raising the property value and pay for it, so who else going to be in it?
Speaker 1:I will say this though You're right, because I'm a homeowner as well. I bought my house at 23 years old.
Speaker 1:I think education plays a part into it as far as buying a home, because as a first time homeowner I didn't have to pay anything down Right, my credit was decent but it wasn't great. I worked my job for two years, I got my shit in three months and but you would have known that are people, and I mean you mean our culture, because they don't ask those questions. It's not a conversation. I'm a first generation home buyer in my family. I really couldn't ask anybody in my family like how do I do this?
Speaker 1:wow, what are the steps right it took me doing research, reaching out to a realtor, things that nature. I feel like if the education was there buying a home it would be more home buyers because rent is expensive right now.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 3:And I feel you. I was 23 as well when I bought my home and it's a different market now than it was then. Man, stuff is expensive. You know what I'm saying. You're paying $1,200 for rent If and stuff is expensive, you know what I'm saying? You're paying $1,200 for rent. If you want to get a nice house, the house that I have now, it would probably I mean, I could probably sell it for $100,000. But you can't make $100,000 more than I paid for it. But you can't get nothing else because you can't afford the next step up.
Speaker 1:It is rough in the market right now. I'm thankful that I did buy my house when I did, because I bought my house literally a year before kofi and man, I got you yeah, it's, it's rough now.
Speaker 3:It's definitely rough now, man, big tay eats. Look, I want to tell you that I appreciate you for stopping by today. We did this has been. I had a good time for real. Yeah, this has been an expanded conversation too, because we kind of uh, got off on a bunch of stuff. But look, I want to ask you a question that we ask all our guests. Okay, if the world was your audience and that camera was your microphone, what would you say?
Speaker 1:If you have a vision or a goal or a plan to do something, stop procrastinating and just do it. I'm going to do this, iinating and just do it. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. The hardest step to take is the very first step. So, once you get that, once you take that first step, get away with it. Get away with it. That'd be my, that'd be my first step. It'd be good for me. It'd be good for me. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4:I'm on the other side of the line.
