MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The debate over meals isn’t going away for Memphis City Council.
Tuesday, WREG saw barbecue lunch catered in on a cart.
The barbecue was from Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q, a national chain based in Birmingham, Alabama. When you are sitting in the middle of the barbecue capital, with local barbecue restaurants on every corner, that raised the first question.
“In my opinion they definitely should do local. It just gives a sense of community around the city here,” said Josh Chase, who lives in Downtown Memphis.
As the city is pushing to do more business with minority- and women-owned companies, could a small catering opportunity have been a golden opportunity for the council to show its support?
“I think minority businesses have a rough time getting started. They don’t get the exposure large companies and brands do. I think it’s an opportunity for them to showcase what they can do,” said Vicky Polk of East Memphis.
City Council Chair Kemp Conrad admits the buck stops with him.
He sent us a statement saying, “All decisions of the council office rest with me as chairman. While I have always opposed taxpayer-funded lunches and don’t partake in them, as chair I have to execute the will of the body. The council is committed to local and minority business growth. We mistakenly thought the caterer yesterday was locally owned. I was wrong about that and going forward we will only use local and/or minority businesses.”
B.J. Tamayo says it’s been a problem before. Her Alcenia’s restaurant has been pushing to get business with the council for years. She says many small and minority businesses are often overlooked.
“It could be revenue for small African-American businesses. $500 to $250 might not seem like a lot to a person on the job, but it is a lot to a small business like myself,” says Tamayo.
City Councilman Martavius Jones says more opportunities will open up.
“We have 24 meetings in this fiscal year. There will be more than ample opportunity to use local home-grown business as well as black-owned business,” said Jones.
Jim ‘N Nick’s is a national chain. There are stores all across Tennessee, and we are told those are all owned by the same person.