CANDID CONVERSATION

Tonya Council Continues Mama Dip’s Legacy

Mildred Council’s granddaughter keeps the

tradition of culinary support alive across the region

BY ELIZABETH BRIGNAC PHOTOS BY BRENT CLARK PHOTOGRAPHY

Culinary 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.

"MAMA DIP" TOLD HER GRANDDAUGHTER TO "GO FOR IT." SHE DID!

So, is it an important aspect of your mission to give local artisans a sales platform through the Sweet Tea & Cornbread shop?

Correct. A lot of times, people don’t know what to do in order to start selling a product or to get their stuff on the shelves. And it’s really hard, going after these big chain stores that have so many stipulations and rules and regulations. So I feel like—being small and having that platform—why not bring other people along?

What about Tonya’s Cookies? That was your first business right?

Yes. Now that’s my baby. Because that is how I got started, and that is the one thing that, to me, made me stick out in my family—starting Tonya’s Cookies and coming up with something that tastes like my grandmother’s pecan pie. So ever since our feature in the Washington Post, we can’t keep them in the store. We’ll look up and have 50 bags on the shelf, and then they’ll call me and be like, “We need more cookies!” Tonya’s Cookies is still doing very well.

What have been some of the big challenges in setting up your businesses?

The biggest challenge that I’ve come up with is learning to let go. In order to grow, you’ve got to trust people. I have a really great staff. It allows me to keep doing what I love to do. Because, number one, I love to cook. And I know there’s going to come a point in time that I’ll have to let that go, too, in order to grow into what I’m trying to do. So I guess it would be learning to take your hands off.

Do you have any future plans you’re particularly excited about?

I’m really anxious to get the cafe back open. And then our next project is [that] I’m trying to get a Sweet Tea & Cornbread store open in Chapel Hill. That’s my roots, so I figue, what better place to have one? And I know that’s something that’s missing from the Chapel Hill scene. That’s hopefully something I can produce way before the holiday season appears.

What advice would you give young female and/or black chefs and culinary entrepreneurs coming up, particularly in the South?

If it’s something you’re passionate about, there are going to be days when you don’t want to get up and do it, but you’ve got to keep going. And once people understand which path they want to go, I think they should go full steam ahead. Stay the course. With women entrepreneurs, it’s just women supporting women and helping each other out. I’m real big on that—people helping people out in general. There’s always somebody that’s helping you get to the next phase that you want to be in, so you’ve got to make sure you reach down and pull somebody else up with you.

For young, Black chefs coming up, I think sometimes things can be a little bit more challenging. But I think it’s pretty much the same. If you’re passionate about it, you’re going to see it through. Nobody’s going to know 100% what to do. If anyone wants to call me or email me, I have no problems with sharing information.

Learn more about Tonya Council and her current projects at tonyacouncil.com.