We recently connected with Alexandria Garrison-Crews and have shared our conversation below.
Alexandria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
The idea of Meat N The Middle was birthed out of growing up in a family that loved to cook and throw family dinners it was instilled in me at an early age the center of every gathering was food. In college my friends and I would get together weekly for social hours and I became the main cook, as cooking is therapeutic and fun for me. There was no shortage in the menu, I would cook everything from bbq on the grill to pasta dishes to tacos that became a fan favorite. The demand for tacos became so high that I tasted someone else’s tacos and discovered why mine were so popular because of the flavorful meat. Realized then, just as food was the center of social gatherings, meat is the center/star of any dish and if that is not stellar than the whole dish could flop hence the name of the company.
Alexandria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
To introduce myself I let everyone know I am a child cook! Not child as in age or ability, rather a child cook as in I have been cooking since I was a child and I would say I have the creativity that many have lost trying to fit into a mold or style of cooking. I like to test the barriers, try what has not been tried before and always looking to think outside the box. However, what I am most celebrated for is the time I take to ensure every meal is flavorful and delicious I am not into mass producing. I enjoy working with clients one one asking questions about their likes and dislike down to the garnish. For instance the Rasta Pasta is a fan favorite however with the spice level it depends on how spicy the particular client.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Cooking, for me, started out as my duty among gatherings with family and friends, and slowly expanded because of demand to selling meals to peers for an extra income. The food industry, however was always an industry I have been drawn to, as I was a server than a manager at Joe’s Crab Shack, as well as other restaurants. One day I realized would rather work for myself having fun and doing what I loved; cooking and entertaining. For years focused on getting a food truck to sell tacos because that is what the people wanted; working toward that goal I realized I enjoyed catering on an intimate setting level so changed the business model to focus on catering small events and focus on catering to specific needs for each event. One of my favorite recurring events is a breakfast which is only an hour once a week nothing fancy just catering to what the people want makes them happy and makes me feel good to satisfy them.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Funding my business has been a journey with multiple layers. I started in 2018 was working full time as a server and selling food on the side. I started saving money from my food sales, because I assumed I wouldn’t qualify for a loan just because I wanted one. I moved to Nashville but was driving back and for the to Atlanta on the weekends to after securing the opportunity to sell for at a local event called Bonfire ATL and to sell plates. I did however, hope that might help me take over the world in startup funds with this routine. Unfortunately, I had to close the business for a couple years because I couldn’t keep up with the demand on myself. Then, COVID closed to world down and was fortunate enough to receive financial help at this time. I then saved for over a year and was able to move back to the Atlanta area over a year ago and was fortunate enough to be able to operate the business full time from the money I was able to move back with.
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