A successful business “should never be about the color you are.”
A CONVERSATION WITH FOUR BLACK FOOD-BUSINESS OWNERS
After the murder of George Floyd incited Black Lives Matter protests across the nation, a surge of support for racial justice led to an increase in patronage at Black-owned businesses. At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating to many businesses, particularly food businesses. We spoke with four Black business owners about their experiences and challenges of owning a food business in Knoxville right now.
STEAMIN’ STEVE'S BBQ
Joyce Sudderth and her husband, Steve, are the owners of Steamin’ Steve’s BBQ. Steve always enjoyed cooking and loved to smoke meat for friends and family, which later expanded into people asking him to smoke meat for events. He has enjoyed watching his dream blossom: Steve never imagined that his business would expand to what it is today. He started packaging his BBQ sauce in mason jars to hand out to friends. Now, that sauce gets shipped all across the U.S.
In 2016, Steve developed the recipe for Steve’s Original BBQ Sauce. He was then encouraged by his daughter and son-in-law to start a business. Steamin’ Steve’s has three ketchup-based sauces: Original, Mild and Hot, the award-winner. A mustard-based sauce is in the works.
Running Steamin’ Steve’s is a family effort where each member enjoys contributing to making the business a success. Steve does research and development; his son-in-law does marketing and photography, and his daughter handles financials.
Before Covid-19, Steamin’ Steves often did product tastings at the stores across the Southeast that carry their products. They also frequented vendor shows.many of which have been cancelled. The family has had to get creative and use social media like Instagram and Facebook to engage with their customers. They aim to put out content that will grab their customers’ attention: in their mailing list, for example, they’ll send out recipes and photos to guide their customers as they cook from home. New customers have discovered Steamin’ Steves, and their online sales have gone up.
Since the racial protests this summer, they have also seen messages of support for their business from customers. Steamin’ Steve appreciates anything and everything the local community does to support them, especially with the current challenges. The business has grown beyond what they expected, and because they get to do it as a family, they are happy to work together and have fun with their business.
BIG O’S FAMOUS BBQ
Kenneth Philander Oglesby, owner of Big O’s Famous BBQ started his food business back in 2012. Oglesby began his food business modestly, attaching a smoker behind his truck and selling in front of his church on Saturday afternoons. His business grew steadily, and he began getting requests for catering jobs—mainly business events or birthdays. He received a food truck permit and started his food truck business. He reaches most of his market through Facebook or word of mouth. He “feel[s] blessed to serve [the Knoxville community].”
Oglesby’s favorite items from his menu are either the ribs, pulled pork, or brisket with his mac and cheese or baked beans on the side.
Due to the Coronavirus, Big O’s has lost significant revenue, which has placed financial burdens on his business. He was scheduled for festivals and big events which were cancelled, like the Balloon Festival or the Blues Festival. Luckily, some neighborhoods, such as Shannon Valley, started food truck nights and invited Big O’s to participate.
After the Black Lives Matter protests this summer, Oglesby saw an upsurge in business for about a week, when people were keen on patronizing Black-owned businesses. The uptick, though, has since declined. He can’t say if his business has really waivered because a majority of his customers are usually white: when he caters an event, 95% of his customers are white.
Being a Black-owned business in Knoxville is a challenge, but Oglesby “do[esn’t] mind being competed against” because he “likes competition.” He said white food trucks will usually cover white establishments. To get business around Knoxville, Oglesby said,“[y]ou have to be known with the good ole boys to be a part of it.”
Last summer, Oglesby was contacted for a company cookout, because the original BBQ truck was double-booked. He was originally told he would be the only food truck at the event, but was later notified there would be other food trucks at the event as well. After asking about the change, Oglesby was told he was getting “smart” on the phone and that his services wouldn’t be needed anymore. The original BBQ truck—run by a white man—ended up doing the event.
Oglesby often feels that he gets the “crumbs” of opportunities that no one else would cover. Since many people have not heard of his businesses, he feels he is seen as the last resort, but is grateful he gets jobs. He gets most of his business from word of mouth, referrals from previous customers. He urges potential clients to read the reviews on his website for proof. Once he gets his foot in the door and people taste his food, he gets asked back because “[his] food speaks for itself.” All he asks is to “give [him] the opportunity to prove [him]self.”
GET’CHA PO-BOY
Lynnez Thompson, owner of Get’cha Po-Boy, a “Louisiana Style” catering business with her husband, Kelvey, are both from Louisiana but moved to Tennessee for Lynnez’s work in 2017. After moving, they could not shake their Louisiana food cravings, especially for po-boys and daiquiris. Both love to cook, and Kelvey has experience working in the kitchen. So they decided to share a bit of Louisiana with Knoxville.
Every state has their own style of cooking, and Louisiana seasoning tastes different than anywhere else, according to Thompson. Her favorite items on their menu are the stuffed jalapeno peppers, which can be filled with cheese, chicken, or crawfish. They interact with their customers through Facebook, Instagram, and word of mouth. Thompson said that everyone no matter the age, “from zero to ninety-nine,” is invited to taste the Get’cha Po-boy menu.
Their cooking aims to “provide Knoxville with something [they] grew up on.” The Thompsons started their business in 2019 and had their first event at the end of the year. They tried to get rolling at the beginning of 2020, but Covid-19 forced them to shift gears.
They were eager to participate in festival season to expand their business and network with the Knoxville community. Cancelled festivals hurt Get’cha Po-Boy financially but also hindered them from what they anticipated as the next step in growing their brand: networking. They hoped to “build a relationship with Tennesseans” and connect their business with Knoxville.
The silver lining to the Coronavirus, Thompson said, is the community effort to support small businesses during the pandemic. Get’cha Po-Boy has sought out creative methods to publicize their products. Their friends have spread the word and hosted various small events of 20-30 people like birthday parties or office parties. Lynnez and Kel also organized a taste test event for people to try their food. They are also spearheading a delivery service on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Customers can text their orders to 865-360-8828 to get their food delivered to them.
On the first Friday of every month, Get’cha Po-Boy does a fish fry at The Bottom on Randolph Street. This last weekend was their second time providing food, and they sold out! They are now moving forward with a service to set up in parking lots to provide meals for locals on their lunch breaks.
Since the protests this summer, many people are trying to find ways to support the Black community. Thompson said it’s “a curse and a blessing” that the tragedy of George Floyd’s death and on-going police brutality has led to Black-owned establishments getting more business.
Racism, Thompson said, “is our pandemic. People of color have been dealing with this for a long time. People, especially white people’s, eyes have been opened and are seeing what it is like to be Black in America.” Thompson is happy people are coming together to learn and listen, and that people are actively searching for Black-owned businesses to support.They are doing research and actually having conversations around the topic.
Thompson said, “if you provide a good service, people will come.” Successful business is about “personality and quality. It should never be about the color you are.”
MEIK MEALS
Femeika Elliott, owner of meal prep service Meik Meals, restarted her fitness journey in 2016. She always had an attachment to cooking, but the cooking wasn’t always healthy. She began making healthier meals for herself, and then was asked by friends and others in her community if she was selling her food.
Her target audience is athletes, people starting their fitness journey, college students, and busy families or individuals who simply do not have the time to make healthy meals. Her website is currently under reconstruction, so Elliott engages with her audience primarily on Instagram and Facebook—the older generation tends to be more active on Facebook and younger folks on Instagram. Elliot said on Facebook it is easy to click the share button which “reaches a lot more people.”
Elliott especially enjoys making vegan meals, but focuses on non-traditional plant-based cooking that doesn’t look vegan. People tend to assume vegan meals are like “rabbit food,” Elliott said. Really, though, “it’s all what you make it, and how you cook it.” Elliott loves being creative in her kitchen. She allows “free flowing ideas in whatever [she] decides to do.”
Because of the small size of the business, Covid-19 has not negatively impacted Meik Meals. The real challenge is finding consistency in her clients. Most of the time, Elliott curates healthy meals for those jump-starting their health journey. While at first excited, clients typically do not stay motivated in terms of eating clean, even though her prices beat what it would cost to eat out for every meal.
When Covid-19 hit and a huge population of America was shock-shopping and stocking up on food, Elliott had to get creative in terms of where she sourced her materials and ingredients. She had to cut out meat options from her meals and offered only plant-based options for a few months.
To Elliott, one of the biggest challenges of being a Black-owned business is a lack of funding and resources for smaller businesses. She said that many other corporations are not sincere and genuine in supporting Black-owned businesses. White businesses have always had the “upper hand,” and the Black community is constantly at a disadvantage and having to find “new ways of doing things” just to compete.
After the protests in response to George Floyd’s murder, Meik Meals saw a small spike in interest: she gained over one hundred followers during the protests. Elliott has noticed that the new followers are not committed to the meal prep service, though Meik Meals was contracted for a few catering jobs.
To Elliott, being Black and a business owner means “being a boss. Being my own boss. Being a creative.” In addition to fueling her passion, Elliott said she recognizes her ancestors who inspired and helped her get where she is today. She wants to “give back to [her] community through [her] talents.” Elliott said it is important to be “unapologetically proud of who you are.”