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BUSINESS ON THE MOVE
Cookin ’ Up
By Rick Dunn
A visitor strolls up to the steam table
of Athens’ newest black owned rest
aurant, Anderson’s Real Home Cookin’,
and asks, “What ya'll got good to eat?”
“Everything,” says co-owner Pam
Anderson. “But, that fried com is really
something.”
The customer makes his selections and
surveys the spacious, but cozy, restaurant
for a good place to sit. He sees the walls
adorned with all types of memorabilia
and an open table next to the huge
window facing Broad Street. Nestled in
his sun baked seat, he prepares to enjoy a
mouth-watering meal of bar-b-que pork
chops, com bread, collard greens, ice tea,
sweet potato cobbler and, of course, fried
com.
Enjoying his meal and conversation
with the establishment’s employees, he
compliments the food and gives two
thumbs up to the house specialty. “That’s
the best fried com I’ve ever eaten,” he
proclaims. “What’s the secret?”
Grinning, Ms. Anderson replies,
“Now, I can’t tell you that. We need to
keep that a secret so you’ll come back for
more.”
REAL HOME COOKING
Home Cooked Meals
Catered for the Holidays
• Buffet-Style Southern Cooking
• Catering For Your Every Need
• Dine In or Take Out
Open: 11:30am-4:00pm M-F
Open For Breakfast 7am-10:30am
706-543-1223
670 W. BROAD ST.
ROOM AVAILABLE FOR PRIVATE A BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
A Recipe For Business
Of course, few restauranteurs are
willing to share the secret recipes for their
favorite dishes and the owners of
Anderson’s, Pam and her husband,
Bernard Anderson, are no exceptions. But
the two thriving entrepreneurs will gladly
share the secrets for business and family
success.
Bernard Anderson said the first
ingredients are persistence and hard work.
“When you don’t feel like going to work,
or want to take a day off, keep on
working,” he said.
“To do anything in business you have
to put 100 percent into it, you’ll have to
sacrifice everything for your business, if
you want it to grow. But, one day you’ll
look back on those hard times and say
‘it’s all good,’ ”he continued.
The Andersons should know, they
have been swimming the turbulent waters
of business ownership for eight years.
Their first venture was the highly
successful Ebony and Ivory Hair Salon.
They had built a sizeable clientele
working at another local beauty shop but
decided to venture out on their own in
pursuit of life long dreams.
Mr. Anderson was bitten by the self-
employment bug at an early age. The
Madison County native said even in
middle school he sold candy and cookies,
or cut grass to make his own money.
“I’ve never really liked working for a
company,” said the former poultry plant
worker.
Ms. Anderson, a native Athenian, said
her life long dream was “to run my own
restaurant and marry a good man.” At age
nine, her mother taught her to cook. She
began to perfect those culinary skills at
11-years-old, when her mother died. Her
“good man” figured with the right
marketing helping his wife fulfill her
dream could be quite profitable.
The Andersons said another ingredient
for business success is long range
planning. They are looking forward to
opening a second site next year, and
turning Anderson’s Real Home Cookin'
into a popular chain. “I want Anderson’s
to be a household name like Morrison’s, ”
said Bernard.
Competition is also an ingredient for a
Success
successful business, the couple suggest.
They feel that when similar businesses are
in operation it forces them to strive harder
to please and attract customers. The hard
working couple said a fellow restaur-
anteur, the late Tony Dye who operated
Spring House Bar-B-Que, really encour
aged them to open their eatery.
A heaping portion of family values is
very important to the Andersons for both
their business and family success. The
two work-a-holics figure in time for
family outings with their business
schedule. They have also learned to
separate the stressors of work from their
home life, which includes providing for
three children - 16-year-old Chaketa, 15-
year-old James and 12-year-old Dale.
As for working all day and then
coming home to deal with her business
partner, Ms. Anderson said, “We really
enjoy working together. I can’t think of
anybody I would rather work with. He is
a blessing to me. You can’t get tired of
someone you said you wanted to spend
your whole life with.”
Finally, Pam Anderson said the main
ingredient that must be placed in a
successful family and/or business is faith
in God. “God has really blessed us. We
stepped out on faith and He has been with
us. That’s why I wasn’t worried about
opening the restaurant. The Lord done
blessed us too many times, and He (has)
taken us too far to think He won’t take us
farther.”
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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 23