We recently connected with Regina Smith and have shared our conversation below.
Regina, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Although I have a soul food restaurant, we don’t fry any food. I focus on healthier soul food options. We give our customers comfort they can taste while feeding their craving.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
At Mama Gina’s, we provide delicious and nourishing comfort food made with fresh, high-quality ingredients.
Our menu is carefully crafted to cater to a variety of tastes and dietary preferences, ensuring that there is something for everyone to enjoy. Unique for a “soul-food” restaurant, we do not fry our foods and we make other healthy recipe adjustments without compromising taste.
Our restaurant is a warm and inviting place where guests are likely to be greeted with a hug from Mama Gina herself.
Beyond our restaurant, we also provide catering services for events of all sizes. We especially love the opportunity to help create memorable holiday meals for our customers’ families.
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We also provide soul-comforting meal-prep services that enable busy individuals and families to enjoy wholesome, home-cooked meals.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Mama Gina’s children’s literacy program has been featured on NBC-5’s “Something Good” segment. The program encourages children to make a selection from our collection of books donated by customers. After reading the book and telling Mama Gina about it, they get a free dessert—and they get to keep the book!
We are also committed to helping the least fortunate in our community by serving free meals to anyone in the community in need. We serve our neighbors in need with dignity and warmth—just like any other customer. While this was an initiative started and funded by Mama Gina, many of our customers have asked to help fund this effort, making it a true community effort. We average around twenty meals per week.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Initially, I didn’t know how I was going to get started. I am the single caregiver and provider for my husband (he has had 5 strokes and a heart attack) and I living on a limited income it was really hard. I didn’t have savings however, a very dear friend (Becky McKnight) invested in my business because she believed in me and my dream. I also had a family member who invested in my business. Had it not been for them I probably wouldn’t be here today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mamaginas.biz
- Instagram: mamaginas.biz
- Facebook: Mama Gina’s Restaurant & Catering
Image Credits
Southern Flair Photography created my profile picture