D E PA R T M E N T S C A N D I D C O N V E R S AT I O N
Tonya Council Continues Mama Dip’s Legacy Mil d re d Co un ci l ’s g ra n dd au gh t er keep s t he t rad i t i o n o f cul i n a r y s upp ort al i ve ac ross t he regi on BY ELIZABETH BRIGNAC
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PHOTOS BY BRENT CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY
ulinary entrepreneur Tonya Council is spinning the legacy of her grandmother, Mildred Council — the celebrated “Mama Dip” of
Mama Dip’s restaurant in Chapel Hill — in her own direction. She currently runs Sweet Tea & Cornbread Grill and Eatery, a Southern food cafe located in the Museum of Natural History; Porch Drops, a temporary, cafe-based business that delivers meals to customers’ homes; Sweet Tea and Cornbread, a brick-and-mortar shop that introduces Raleigh-area customers to locally-made products; N.C. Made, an online gift basket store designed to give out-of-towners a taste of what North Carolina has to offer; and Tonya’s Cookies, a Chapel Hill cookie store. Five businesses make for a busy schedule, and it seems Council is just getting started. We spoke to her about her work, being part of the Council family legacy and her plans for future projects.* When did you decide what you wanted to do professionally?
I was around 18 or 19. When you’re young and you’re in a family business, you’re being taught to do things. It’s like a chore. You’ve got all these other cousins sitting there, and we’re all doing the same thing, washing dishes. But the older I got, the more I could see, coming home from college — this is where I belong. This is what I do.
What’s it like being a part of Mama Dip’s legacy?
I’m very grateful for the platform that my grandmother started for us. She taught us a lot of stuff with cooking, but she also taught us, in the kitchen, how to treat people and how to give back. I couldn’t have asked for a better upbringing. When I was young, I’d always be like, “We never sit down at the
dinner table like everybody else after school.” But as I get older, I’m grateful that my journey was not like my peers’ growing up. My grandmother said, “You’re a lot like me, but you’re also a lot not like me. You get bored, and you want to continue doing other things, other projects.” And she said, “Go for it.” My grandmother was always big on community. I feel like bringing all these people under my umbrella for Sweet Tea & Cornbread is paying homage to the stuff that she did, like going to the farmer’s markets, buying from them, and having big trucks pull up in front of the restaurant — pickup trucks with watermelons and tomatoes that she would buy from farmers. So me bringing these people into my store is me giving back to the community as well, and giving those people a voice.
*This interview was edited for length. 98 | midtownmag.com
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