Transcription

VO: Are you hungry yet? This is a story about how funding a school trip to China created Amanda's barbecue and put them right where they needed to be, on plates all across Georgia. 

Amanda: So my name is Amanda Kinsey. I'm the founder and CEO of Amanda's barbecue. We have been in business for about six years and we are southern mobile caterers with the expansion of now going to a food truck. We specialize in barbecue and southern hospitality and we just travel around Atlanta doing festivals and backyard functions and corporate events. My business started from a family perspective. So I take with my barbecue. I try to express love and just getting people back together. So it's basically like if I could be in your backyard I'm taking the stress of alleviating some things that you may have to plan for so that you can be with your family, your friends and concentrate on your corporate events and things of that nature, and it is not like the old southern food ways like you all down and out and just gotta fall asleep. It's more of a healthy alternative with barbecue. So this was important to me getting people back together again around the table, making conversations and memories 

VO: What Amanda understands is that people want more than just to have a full stomach? 

Amanda: Fulfilled being fulfilled, you know expecting what they thought they was getting is actually exactly what they're getting, you know, because people always want to say oh you the best then it be like a little mind there but then when they taste the wings all that, oh, these are good. So, you know, it's almost kind of like shock value and plus the fulfillment of eating 

VO: And while some people start their business for the passion, Amanda’s barbecue had much more practical beginning

Amanda: I was a teacher for 17 years and my son he went to a charter school in Atlanta where he learned Mandarin Chinese and he got gifted with the opportunity to go to China for summer. I think it was a month and a half whatever but the trip was expensive. I didn't make that money like that in the time frame that they wanted it. So I was like, what can I do because I was gonna tell him he couldn't go and it was like God was like cook. That's what you know how to do and so my mom had her Grill and I asked her could I borrow it and I got her grill and literally just started going around Atlanta grilling. And so that's how Amanda's barbecue was born. The fact that how we just keep growing every year and you know getting recognition from people that I actually admire, you know companies like your company. Oh and I started off taking pictures in front of my house, you know, ya’ll was like meh, but just it's almost like a full circle to now be about with working with Partnerships with this company. So it's almost like shock value to me that I just keep growing and growing and growing and then on top to have the community to support us the way that they do with working with your company. We do a lot of festivals and we started out with a tent and a table. So the food truck people really can only get to us if they was having something catered or it was corporate or it's a festival. So now the food truck would allow us to get to the everyday working class citizen, you know, we could do more pop-ups frequently or you know, do more drive-bys like Amazon do so the food truck allows us to get to people that don't have the money to do a big event and then don't really want to pay the prices to go to festivals. So it'll just be it'll be a relationship between me and them. 

VO: Amanda’s barbecue is found a lot of success and she has advice that isn't just for vendors. It applies to event organizers, too. 

Amanda: I would tell them not to be afraid to just apply with their table and their tent and just stay consistent and just be patient and when you get your first festival you rock it and just keep going from there. Because it really has been a very good opportunity that has came through this company and you just have to keep the faith in this business and just keep going. You're Gonna reach somebody gonna get somebody attention with your tent and your table and then you'll have your food truck or your food truck going to morph into a building. Just got to keep at it. 

VO: So if you're in Georgia or anywhere near Atlanta, stop and get some of this barbecue that's all about love and community.