Seattle's Black Owned Businesses

Christian: [0:00] Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. This is your host Christian Awesome with the Awesome Nossum Group at Wilson Realty Exchange, Inc. We are a group of Seattle area real estate agents who love to talk about the Seattle area, Seattle real estate, and just teach you guys about everything going on in Seattle. So today we're gonna highlight some Black-owned businesses. This is Black History Month, so- Each of us went to a different Black-owned business, and we're gonna kinda just give our take on what we love there and, uh, and give you some tips and stuff if you want to, you know, highlight some of these and, and go check it out yourself. So first up, let me introduce the team. We have the one, the only, the dog whisperer, Mr. Les Cutting.

Les: [0:44] I'm first today.

Christian: [0:45] You're first. Yay. You begged for three episodes to be first.

Les: [0:52] So you're finally first. We have- Maybe it's 'cause it's Black History Month.

Christian: [0:53] Ooh. Hey, you never know. Could be. Maybe. We have… Let's go with Mel G. She's, she's next. Mel Gadamse. She is right here. Woo. She is amazing. Newer member of the team, but she is awesome.

Reed: [1:05] Hey, hey.

Christian: [1:06] We have the Seattle native, Reed Watson.

Reed: [1:09] That's me.

Christian: [1:10] And last but not least, the data guru himself, Jason Saldarriaga.

Jason: [1:15] Me.

Christian: [1:17] All

Jason: [1:18] me.

Christian: [1:18] All you. So first up, Les, since you like to be first, why don't you tell us, what business did you go to?

Les: [1:26] All right. All right. So I went to the Taste of the Caribbean. Um, I don't know if people know this, but my parents are actually Jamaican, so, um, it's hard to get a really good authentic Caribbean meal on the West Coast in general. So when you do find a place that you like, you gotta cherish it and hold it close to your heart. So Taste of the Caribbean is my spot. Um, when I go there, I get the jerk chicken or mostly the oxtails. The oxtails are fantastic. It reminds me of when my mom cooks them. So that's what I usually get. And if, you know, if it's a little li- if it's a lighter day, I get a rum punch, and then I also get a Jamaican beef patty. For those of you who don't know what a Jamaican beef patty is, basically it is, it's meat. So it's like minced, uh, like ground beef almost. And it's kinda spicy. And it's, it's encased or wrapped in like a pie crust. Mm. And it is super delicious. It's crispy. It has all the right, right textures, and it just reminds me of being home. So that's my go-to spot, um, you know, when I need some good Caribbean food. So Taste of Caribbean is my go-to spot. Yeah.

Christian: [2:35] Where, where is that?

Les: [2:37] It's located right by Seattle U. Mm-hmm. So, uh, I wanna say on Jefferson Street. Mm-hmm. Um, right… It's actually literally next door to Nate's Chicken and Waffles, for you, those of you guys who-

Christian: [2:49] Who know that

Les: [2:50] don't know or, or know. Uh, Nate Robinson, he's a basketball player from here. He owns a business right next door to it. It's right across the street, or right across from the play fields at Seattle U, so.

Christian: [3:00] Yeah. It's like essentially like- Right on the

Les: [3:01] corner.

Christian: [3:02] Yeah, exactly. Maybe 12th and Jefferson or something like that.

Les: [3:04] Yep. Yep, exactly.

Christian: [3:06] Cool. Do they do breakfast,

Jason: [3:09] just lunch, just dinner? What's their deal?

Les: [3:10] I believe they do some brunch. They have some, um, brunch items on the weekend. So that may consist of what they call, uh, ackee and saltfish. So ackee and saltfish is a dish. Um, basically it's, it's salted cod fish and this fruit that grows on a tree, which is called ackee, and that's a breakfast item in Jamaica, and it's served with a fried dumpling. So it's almost like a biscuit, and that's a breakfast item. You also can do callaloo, which is like… It's almost like collard greens, but it's really, really good in the morning time. Actually, my mom was here a couple days ago, and she actually made that for me for breakfast, so. Mm. Um, yeah, it's, it's good eating. If you have the opportunity to check it out and you want some tips of what to try, holler at me. I'll be more than happy to help you out.

Christian: [3:55] Awesome. Thanks, Les. Mm-hmm. Jason, where did you go?

Jason: [3:58] Oh my gosh, the one, the only, the life-changing, the greatest place on earth. It is my church. It is my lover. It is my ex-boyfriend. It is my mother and my father. It is everything to me. Ezell's Famous Chicken, the one, the only. Mm. Oprah's favorite, Ezell's. Oh. Mm-hmm. I just, I love Ezell's.

Les: [4:25] Okay.

Jason: [4:26] Love Ezell's.

Les: [4:26] What'd,

Jason: [4:26] what'd

Les: [4:26] you have, player? Tell us. Tell us. Talk to us.

Jason: [4:29] Uh, I always get the same thing, the spicy chicken strips, of course. Oh,

Les: [4:34] hey. What kind of sauce?

Christian: [4:35] Mm.

Jason: [4:35] Um, all… I, I don't have a certain sauce. I honestly pick and choose and do different sauces all the time, but I really like their blue cheese.

Les: [4:46] Hmm.

Jason: [4:46] I really like their blue cheese sauce. Uh- You gonna miss

Les: [4:49] that barbecue, player?

Jason: [4:50] The barbecue's good, yeah, but I come from Texas, right? Mm-hmm. Okay. Like Austin, so barbecue, I, I don't go- You're picky … to Ezell's for barbecue. I go to Ezell's for life-changing- … life-sustaining chicken. Chicken. And I'm really gross. Like, I eat it, but I pick off the breading, like a lot of the, the ex- extra breading, and then I eat all the breading separate. Ooh. It's like the dessert. Okay. Okay. Oh, this is getting better. And, ugh, and my boyfriend is like, you know, embarrassed or, like, gagging in the corner looking at me and just- Yeah. Ooh,

Les: [5:25] you

Jason: [5:25] making this

Les: [5:25] sound real nasty, baby.

Jason: [5:27] They have amazing sides. I just love Ezell's. There are, I think like 18 locations in the, in Washington, mainly around Seattle. Is there, is there really that many? Yeah, I'm on their website. Wow. If you look on Wikipedia, I think it says, like, 12, but it's actually 17 or 18 according to Ezell's website. Um- They have a fascinating history. I don't know if people know about it, but, uh, they started in the '80s. It was two guys, one of them named Ezell, the other one not named Ezell. What is his name? Uh, Lewis Rudd. So it was two friends, and, uh, they started the, uh, out- they s- the first store was the one in front of Garfield High.

Les: [6:08] Mm-hmm. Yep.

Jason: [6:09] In the Central District. On 23rd. Still there. Yep. And so they kinda went from there and blew up after Oprah had it when she was in town and said it was her favorite fried chicken on her show, and they would, uh, fly it out to her whenever she requested it. They, they always stocked, like, the Seahawks playing with chicken. It's a Seattle institution. It's amazing. Yeah. If you haven't had it, it's just so good. And then I love the backstory here with Ezell getting divorced- Mm-hmm … and that causing quite a rift in the company. And so Ezell and Lewis Ru- Ezell Stevens and Lewis Rudd were the founders. Ezell got divorced, um, I forget exactly when. I think it was, like, 10 years ago, and Lewis Rudd, the other founder, and Ezell's ex-wife kind of banded together and fought Ezell. And what ended up happening was Ezell was able to take the recipe, but Lewis Rudd and Ezell's ex-wife took the name Ezell's Chicken. Hmm. And so if you want the old recipe, the original recipe for Ezell's, you go to the also incomparable Heaven Sent Fried Chicken. Mm-hmm. It's very good as well, and if you look online, there's a lot of people who compare the two, like which one's better, Ezell's or, or Heaven Sent, and, uh, it's very contentious. Um-

Les: [7:32] And how many locations of, of Heaven Sent?

Jason: [7:34] They don't have that many. I-

Les: [7:35] So it's only two, right? I

Jason: [7:37] wanna say two or three. Yeah. Something like that.

Les: [7:38] Yeah. There's one down the street from my house. I know that.

Jason: [7:40] Mm-hmm. But it, it, they're both amazing. I, I can't, I can't speak highly enough. God. I'm, I'm, like, speechless. I'm speechless.

Christian: [7:49] Cool. I'm gonna go next 'cause I just want to, and, uh, I want to eat this food right now 'cause I'm starving, and it sounds delicious. So, uh, I went to Pam's Kitchen, which is- The owner is, um, Trinidadian. Um, Pam is her name, as you can imagine. Um, she opened her first Pam's Kitchen in 2006. They had a spot near UDub, and then she's since kinda expanded, and I think it's kinda contracted a little bit at this point. Now I believe they only have one spot in Wallingford. I know they used to have another spot near South Lake Union. It might still be open. Maybe I should look at that. Uh, but the food, oh my gosh, it is so good. So I have three kids. We got it for dinner, and we just got a bunch of stuff and just did, like, family style. So the kids love pie, which is essentially, like, a giant slice of what looks like, if you can imagine a piece of lasagna, but it's all macaroni and cheese.

Les: [8:52] Mm.

Christian: [8:52] So it's just this giant, tall, like, three-inch tall slice of mac 'n cheese. Uh, and they loved that. Their, their absolute favorite though was the coconut bake, which is like coconut bread, and you can dip it in other stuff. We got some lamb curry, some jerk ribs, jerk chicken. And Les, what was the other thing I got? I don't remember the name of it. You

Les: [9:13] got some roti.

Christian: [9:15] Roti.

Les: [9:16] Which is a staple in Caribbean cuisine, but it's from Trinidad. So I, I think all the islands in the Caribbean, they, they, they have their own version of it- Mm-hmm … but it comes from Trinidad.

Christian: [9:26] It was so damn good. Mm-hmm. That was my favorite. Um- Yeah, it was, it was good. And they had this mango chutney dip and- Mm. Yum … this potato bread. Ooh. It was, ooh, I'm- Fired … yeah, I need to go get some right after we're done doing this- … 'cause it's that good. I can smell it now. So Pam's Kitchen is located in Wallingford, right on 45th, kitty-corner from the QFC in Wallingford. I believe that's on Wallingford Ave and 45th, right on the corner there. It is highly recommended. Yeah, I walked in there to pick up our food, and it, the smells alone were just like, "Oh, this is gonna be good." So I know that we will be adding that to our, you know, kind of our rotation of food that we do if we ever need to get to-go food. So I am excited to add that. Let's move on. Mel, where did you go?

Melanie: [10:13] I had the pleasure of visiting Carolina Smoked Barbecue, which is located- Mm … in Bothell, right off of- Mm … Bothell-Everett Highway.

Christian: [10:21] Mm-hmm.

Melanie: [10:21] Um, Carolina Smoked Barbecue has actually been around since 1971.

Christian: [10:25] Whoa.

Melanie: [10:25] And the owner, his name is David Hayward, and he's originally from South Carolina. And when you go to Carolina Smoked Barbecue, you'll always see him. He's always in the back cooking. Mm. So he's still a cook there, which is awesome- Yeah … 'cause you don't get to see that often.

Christian: [10:38] Mm-hmm.

Melanie: [10:38] Um, and I ordered three… It's called the three meat platter. So you get to pick three different meats. So I chose the pulled pork, ribs, and chicken. And then it comes with two sides, so I got the macaroni and cheese, which was so good. I think it had a little bit of crab in it, I'm pretty sure. Oh. Oh. It was so good. Mm. Yeah. And then I got their cornbread, which you put butter on top and honey, so the Southern way.

Christian: [11:02] Mm-hmm.

Melanie: [11:03] I just feel like they have the recipe down, like nailed down for the cornbread, which obviously, I mean, I expected that. The cool thing about the Carolina Smoked Barbecue is they actually have a food truck. Ooh. So they serve at, like, local events. I mean, not as much right now, but they used to be at a lot of local events. But if you go onto their social media, you can see where the truck is heading. So it goes to different locations- Which I love I believe on the East Side. So if you're in- They are pretty good … Bethel next, I highly suggest you stop at Carolina Smoked Barbecue. It's super good. They're very friendly. They're warm, and there's, like, crazy music playing inside the, the restaurant.

Les: [11:41] Ooh, you should g- you guys should check it out on a Friday night where they got, like, the R&B playlist going on. Ooh, fire. Oh,

Melanie: [11:46] have you been there?

Les: [11:47] I have. It's not too far from, uh, Sarah's work. Gotcha. I feel like I've been to all these places. Like Nice. But they, they, they ha- he has a fire, uh, R&B playlist usually playing late at night- Got it … right before he closes, so that's when- Okay … I usually like to check them out and grab my food.

Melanie: [12:02] Ooh. Nice. Will do.

Christian: [12:04] Yeah. I'm just gonna fill the rest of my day up with food. Yeah. It's almost lunchtime, and it's just gonna be- … like, eating everything. Okay, last but not least, Reed, what did you hit up? Where did you go? Tell me all about it.

Reed: [12:15] Well, like a true Ballard resident, I got a beer. Um- So- Well,

Christian: [12:20] that is kind of the way of Ballard, so

Reed: [12:22] yeah. Yeah. No food involved, but I went to Ballard Beer Company- Okay … which is in, you know, kinda central Ballard right on Market Street. And I think it's a good option for people who, if they wanna get a beer on Saturday or Sunday but are a little bit overwhelmed by all the breweries over on 14th because they get so crowded over the weekends- Mm-hmm you can also, you know, just go over to Ballard Beer Company, and their taps highlight a lot of the breweries in the Ballard area. They're also a bottle shop, so they try and find unique beers, kind of hard-to-find beers from around Washington State as well. And some of those are on tap, but most of them are, are bottles that you can buy, and, I mean, you can drink them there as well. Also, you know, it's a one-stop shop, right? You can go and try multiple different local beers from the Ballard area. I got the American Mosaic IPA from Rooftop. It was really good, and I'm a big fan of Rooftop, but they have You know, stuff from Rubens and Stoup, and then also some, a lot of stuff from smaller breweries you might not have heard of. And one thing that I thought was really cool is they also have all this really cool artwork on their walls that the owners got from the late Einar Hansen, who was apparently a pretty well-known Ballard resident, a local maritime watercolor artist. And so he would sketch images he wanted to watercolor, and then he'd also do watercolors. And so they kind of kept that as a little piece of Ballard history in their place, which I also thought was really interesting. It's also almost right next to, uh, the Majestic Bay Movie Theater, which I believe is, is open for business now. And that place has been around forever. It's really cool. But if you wanna grab a beer before or after a movie, then that's the perfect spot to go.

Christian: [14:11] Very good point. Yeah.

Reed: [14:12] Mm-hmm.

Christian: [14:13] Anybody else have any tips or places that, that you didn't get to go to but, but wanted to bring up?

Reed: [14:19] Yeah. I really wanted to go to Cafe Campagne as well. I didn't get a chance to this week, but they're in the Pike Place Market, a French restaurant. They've been around for a very long time, kind of a staple down there. But not as well known, so sometimes if you can't get a table, you know, at one of the spots, you should definitely check out Cafe Campagne. It's delicious.

Jason: [14:39] I was gonna do Plum Bistro- Ooh … which is n- not too far from Cal Anderson on Capitol Hill.

Les: [14:46] Fire.

Jason: [14:47] I used to go there regularly. Mm-hmm. I have very fond memories of that restaurant. Delicious. Highly recommend. It's just-

Les: [14:54] All this food talks got my mouth watering.

Jason: [14:57] So tasty. I know. My

Christian: [14:58] stomach's growling. I know. Another, uh … Les, you, you shared a website that had a ton of, it had actually a Black business directory.

Les: [15:06] Yeah. For, so for the Seattle metro area, I think it even goes out as far as Tacoma as well, like just kind of all over the area. It's called urbanleague.org. It is a Black business directory, and um, it also supports other minority businesses as well. So if you are, um, looking for a great Black business to support, um, I would suggest you visit this website. It's urbanleague.org. And if you are a Black business or a Black-owned business and you aren't on here, please get on here and, um, you know, get your business out there, you know what I mean? So people can support you guys.

Christian: [15:40] Yeah. And there's … I mean, I'm looking through that right now. I mean, like something that we didn't even bring up, the Northwest African American Museum. It is an amazing museum. You should definitely check that out if you have kids or even if you don't. Just go there and check it out. They have all sorts of cool exhibits. Um, yeah, it's a, it's a great, great way to support the local industries, um- And yeah, I mean, if you're a Black-owned business and you're not on this list, you, you should be. There's no point not being on there. So get some, get some free advertising. I, I have to go eat now.

Reed: [16:15] Me too. I was

Les: [16:16] just thinking about

Reed: [16:16] food.

Les: [16:16] I think I know where I'm going tonight.

Christian: [16:19] I think I'm gonna meet you there. All right. See you there. All right. Trigger-prompted

Reed: [16:23] sign-off.

Christian: [16:23] Exactly. Thank you everybody for listening to another edition of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. We'll see you next time.

Reed: [16:30] See ya.

Les: [16:31] Bye.