Hungry students and fast foodpatrons alike looking for a dining alternative now have a tasty new outlet tosatisfy their appetites. SouthernHospitality, a new mobile meal vendor located just outside of SouthernUniversity’s main entrance, offers restaurant- goers a variety of sandwiches,hot plates and other tantalizing snack items.
Chantay Henry, a political sciencemajor from Baton Rouge, who was getting ready to enjoy a chilli dog and frenchfries from the burgeoning establishment said, “It beats having to drive wayunder the overpass to go to Sonic and have to sit in traffic to come back.”
This is the first semester that thevendor has been set up on the campus, but customers have been getting a tasteof hospitality for quite some time.
Started by Jeff Thomas and FreddieHollins, Southern Hospitality has provided food service in several locationsaround the city for the past several months.
“We’ve been in business for aboutten months,” Hollins said. “I’ve been working with (Thomas) for about four orfive months.” Hollins, an SUgraduate from Oakland, Calif. who studied history, formerly owned Fat Buddies,a now defunct on-campus eatery.
Referring to his desire to pursue acareer in the restaurant business, Hollins said, “I’ve always had foodexperience. My grandmother did alot of cooking and I did a lot of helping.”
In 1998, Hollins began hisrestaurant history by selling and delivering fish plates and hot lunches aroundcampus. He and Thomas met three years ago while running separate vendingventures.
“We crossed paths, but we had neverdone business until now,” Hollins said.
Among the many menu items served bySouthern Hospitality are Chicago-style hot dogs and homemade burgers that useground chuck rather than the soy meat that many fast food establishments use.They also serve Philly cheese steaks, buffalo hot wings and nachos.
In regards to the customers’ topchoices, Hollins said, “I would say our hottest sellers are our burgers andwieners.”
With the hot weather bearing down onmany patrons, Southern Hospitality’s snowballs provide a delicious way to cooloff.
Derrick Barnes, a rehabilitationservices major from Prentice, Miss., who makes his way to Southern Hospitalityat least twice a week said, “I love them. They’re great.”
According to Hollins, business forthe meal vendor is quite heavy, with game days and night times are the mosthectic. They are open everyday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., then from 9 p.m.until 2 a.m. They also take phoneorders and run a student discount, where students get a free meal afterpurchasing five meals using a discount coupon card. Deliveries stop at 1 a.m.
“The restaurant business is veryprofitable, but it’s a lot of hard work,” Hollins said. “We don’t rest. We put in aboutfourteen hours a day, easy.”
Southern Hospitality is a newaddition to the list of black-owned businesses in and around the Baton Rougearea. Hollins is very adamant about supporting such businesses and recyclingthe black dollar.
“Unfortunately, black folks are notconscious of the way we spend our dollars,” he said. “If I can help it, I’mgoing to spend with my own. If all black folks thought like that, we’d bebetter off.”
