September 26, 2025 • 43 mins
What would happen if you stopped begging for a seat at someone else's table and built your own instead? That's exactly what Kerri Paul, a self-described "regular little southern girl" from Mississippi, decided to do. After leaving corporate America behind, she's now the proud co-owner of three thriving Brick and Spoon restaurants across the Gulf Coast, a content creator, and a mompreneur raising "Irish triplets" while building her empire.
Raised by entrepreneurial parents who showed her that women could be bosses and multiple income streams were normal, Kerri developed a fearless approach to business. When opportunity knocked, she didn't hesitate to take massive risks—selling her custom-built home and moving in with her parents to secure seed money for her first restaurant. "I'm going to take a risk on myself, I'm going to invest in myself," became her mantra.
The southern brunch culture Kerri created through Brick and Spoon isn't just about mimosas and good food (though there's plenty of both). It's about crafting spaces where people feel seen and valued, not just numbers passing through. Her customers sometimes cry when sharing how her story has impacted them, proving that authentic connection builds stronger businesses than corporate strategies ever could.
What distinguishes successful entrepreneurs from dreamers? According to Kerri, it's not intelligence or resources—it's consistency. "Consistency has been the key in everybody I know that has a bag," she explains. Combined with her philosophy that "the only time you fail is when you stop," this mindset has carried her through ventures ranging from a shoe store during the 2008 recession to competing on The Amazing Race.
Ready to build something that reflects your vision and values? Take Kerri advice: "Get out of your own way. There is nothing standing between you and success but yourself." Start now, start imperfect, and remember that every experience—whether conventionally successful or not—gives you tools no one can take away.
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SPEAKER_00 (00:20):
Hello, hello, honey.
It's your honey girl.
Y'all already know it's Aliciacrippling your positivity queen.
And I'm pimping positivity inthe passenger seat.
Listen, the person that I havein the passenger seat today is
not only gorgeous, okay?
She is a serial entrepreneur, acontent creator, a restaurateur,
(00:44):
a cultural storyteller, and justan all-around boss, baby, from
Mississippi.
M I S S I S S I Cookie Letter,Cookie Letter, listen.
Y'all already know she's fromMississippi, baby, the dirty,
dirty south.
So you already know that she'smy sister from another mistake,
okay?
(01:04):
And she's here to show y'all andtell y'all how to build your
dream without begging for a seatat a table that wasn't built for
you in the first place.
Because why are we begging for aseat at the table when we can
create our own?
That part, that part.
Why are we begging for seats attable when we can create our
(01:27):
own?
Okay, she is the co-owner ofthree count them.
One, two, three brick and spoonrestaurants across the Gulf
Coast, Beluxie, Gulfport, andMobile.
She's come, she has competed onthe amazing race.
She's gone viral for talkingabout her southern upbringing,
(01:51):
secure the bag.
Okay, she's worked withcompanies like Ford, honey.
She's raising daughters, andthat is not an easy task.
Okay, not an easy task whilestill building a business that
reflects not just her, not justher vision, but her values.
SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
Yes, Miss Carrie, baby.
Welcome.
The intro was so good, baby.
My phone got snatched, baby.
Snatch my phone.
SPEAKER_02 (02:38):
Girl, you made me sound real good, sis.
SPEAKER_00 (02:42):
Because you are real good, sis.
Listen, you are real good, andyou're doing some real good
things out here in thesestreets.
SPEAKER_02 (02:50):
Thank you, girl.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
So I want to give you your flowers now because you
deserve it.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (02:58):
Thank you.
I'm just a tired mama at the endof the day, same as everybody
else.
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
Listen, because I have three kids of my own, but
they are grown.
But now I have my grandbabythat's living with me, and I'm
just like, oh baby, starting allover again is not easy.
SPEAKER_02 (03:17):
Yes, with these alphas.
What are we gonna do?
What we gonna do about it?
Pray, pray hard, hard.
And mine talking about mama.
You better remember to pray.
Last night she told me that.
Say your prayers.
I'm like, girl, if you don'tleave me alone.
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
Oh listen, she train them up, raise them up, right?
SPEAKER_02 (03:44):
They're trying to raise me up though.
That's a problem.
SPEAKER_00 (03:50):
Because they they always think that they know,
like it's like right now, we areno longer raising little kids,
we are raising miniature adults,people, yes, humans, type humans
that think that they're theparents, yes, and they try to
get us together, yes.
(04:12):
Now, for the people that do notknow who you are, introduce
yourself.
SPEAKER_02 (04:18):
So I'm Carrie Paul, I'm just a regular little
southern girl that had somehopes and dreams, and you know,
I'm making them happen everyday.
Um, I own three brunchrestaurants, brick and spoon.
And you've already said allthese things, but I think um my
biggest takeaway, what I wantpeople to know about me, is I'm
(04:42):
a mompreneur, and I'm just awoman who said no to the mess
and the BS of corporate America,and I said yes to me.
And I really had to learn how topivot, and I didn't mind
pivoting.
And look, here my businesspartner just messing up my call
(05:06):
in the back of my trunk.
So this is real life businessand real life mom life.
Look, I love it.
I love it.
Hold on, let me let me let y'allsee her since you want to get in
the get on in now, Brittany.
Yeah, go ahead.
So the store.
Thank you.
I love it.
(05:27):
Real life mompreneur life,that's what we do.
SPEAKER_03 (05:29):
I have I'm about to start lighting the twins up.
SPEAKER_02 (05:32):
Okay, so I have a set of twins.
So I have Irish triplets, what Icall Irish triplets.
So I have a set of twins andtheir baby sister who was born
the following year.
And my business partner hastwins plus one as well.
So we are really mompreneur, andall of our twins and triplets
and all these children are atthe restaurant right now.
We've had a work day togetherwith children in our space and
(05:53):
all in our face, and we justreally have to know how to
juggle.
And I mean, baby, we in acircus.
SPEAKER_00 (06:00):
Okay, listen.
I cannot imagine.
I cannot imagine twins, twinsplus one.
SPEAKER_02 (06:08):
Yes.
Both of us have that.
SPEAKER_00 (06:09):
I cannot imagine.
I I I promise you I could not.
SPEAKER_02 (06:13):
No, I worked in corporate America for you know,
a while.
And it's so I'm also a contentcreator.
So an influencer.
And a lot of people just knowinfluencers as like, you know,
the 25-year-old girlies, andthey're just like Instagram
models, this, that, and thethird.
But like, I'm a real grownwoman.
I'm 43 years old.
(06:34):
I've worked in corporateAmerica.
You know, I I bring, I feel likesome of my business and
corporate elements into mysocial media world.
And, you know, like I actuallyworked a real job.
A lot of people in that industryhave not.
So, you know, I'm a mom, I'm areal woman.
I I know how to get it becauseguess what?
(06:57):
If you don't, you ain't gonnahave none.
Basically, you gotta learn howto get it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:02):
You can learn how to hustle, especially mom.
Yes, because if because if wedon't do it, like we can't look
for anybody to save us, like wehave to get it how we live,
because at the end of the day, Ihave to make sure that my baby's
got it.
That's right.
Nine times out of ten, I am theonly one that can give it to
(07:23):
them.
SPEAKER_02 (07:24):
And you want them, you know.
For me, one thing that I liketo, I guess, share or think
about or talk about is buildingthat generational wealth because
for my family, you know, myparents, they didn't come from
much, but my dad was from theEast Coast and he moved down
south.
And, you know, he actually didgo to college and he did have an
(07:46):
engineering degree, and he wentto the Air Force and became an
officer in the Air Force, and hedid some things that a lot of
us, our parents did not have theopportunity to do.
And so moving down south, healways had that hustle mentality
because you know, people fromthe east coast, they come down
here and they say it's slow, orthey, you know, they used to
(08:08):
that hustle, that bustle, thatcity life.
But my dad brought that to us,entire family.
SPEAKER_03 (08:13):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (08:14):
So coming from the east coast, he, you know, he
came down to the MississippiGulf Coast and I was like, oh my
God, there's so like the worldis your oyster, literally.
Like you can do anything, youcan be anything here.
And my dad, even though hewasn't an entrepreneur working
at Centers Space Center andNASA, he had all kinds of
entrepreneurial ventures.
And I always saw that, and mymom did as well.
(08:34):
And I always saw that growingup, and my parents really
working for themselves and likehustling and not afraid to have
five, six, seven jobs or youknow, buying property and having
apartments and being landlords.
I saw that growing up.
That's the world I lived in.
That was my lived experience.
So, you know, I you always wantto build upon that for the next
(08:55):
generation.
And it's what lets me know that,you know, as a mom or a preneur
rather, I'm doing the rightthing for my kids, you know,
giving them that.
SPEAKER_00 (09:05):
So you are okay, so we're gonna get into this
because what you are talkingabout is legacy in motion.
Yes, this is what you you'redoing, like you were raised
around it.
Yes, your mom owns aconstruction cleaning business,
(09:26):
yes.
Okay, yeah, so uh what didwatching that kind of hustle uh
teach you about buildingsomething that lasts?
Because that's that's whatyou're doing now, you're
building something that lasts.
So, what what did that teach youabout watching it by being
(09:46):
around it every single day?
How did that help you now?
SPEAKER_02 (09:51):
It taught me one that women are leaders.
I've never had a moment where Ithought that the boss is only a
man, you know, because in myworld, both of my parents were
bosses, and my mom wasdefinitely the boss.
So I I grew up thinking that Icould do anything, that I could,
(10:14):
you know, touch anything that Iput my mind to because I saw her
do it.
Seeing my parents achieve, itgave me an open worldview that I
could do it.
And I did, you know, I know alot of us in our communities, we
have a, you know, kind of like afear or like this like cloud
hanging over our head wherewe're like, uh, but is it gonna
(10:36):
be hard or is it gonna be, Ijust I don't have that.
And it also gave me a safetynet, so to speak, so that I
could take risks because myparents had, you know, my dad
built our home, my childhoodhome.
He built it with his own hands.
And I mean, it's a pretty largetwo-story home that we grew up
in, and they still have thathome now.
(10:58):
And so for me, that gave me as ayoung adult the flexibility to
take risks because in the backof my head, I'm like, okay, I'm
what I got to lose.
You know, if something happened,I go stay with my mom and them,
you know, like I'll go live inone of their homes.
It's just a sense of security.
And I think it's it's not a 100%anomaly, but I think it's
(11:20):
something that a lot of peopleof color and a lot of families
are cut of color are being ableto experience that type of leg
up, I guess.
You know, you see that in othercommunities often, but that has
been my lived experience.
And I don't think that Iunderstood until I became an
adult how beneficial that was tome to be able to have that
(11:42):
security net.
And that's probably a big reasonwhy I did take some of the risk
that I took.
SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
So when you say risk, what what type of risk
have you taken thus far as a bigbusiness owner?
SPEAKER_02 (11:59):
So, well, I will say, you know, years ago when I
was on the Amazing Race back in2010, that was a big risk
because I had to take off workand I had a corporate job.
I worked for the city as aprogram coordinator.
And I the I had to take I'veworked for about a month.
And I mean, most people wouldn'tdo that.
You know, I was in my late 20s,but most people would be afraid
(12:20):
to lose their job.
And quite frankly, when I gotback, they had changed my job
some.
And shortly thereafter, I didleave.
But like I said, it enabled meto have a thought process of
okay, I'm gonna go for this thatI want to do because I'm not
gonna die.
You know, what's gonna happen?
Or um when we opened ourrestaurant, I sold everything.
(12:44):
Like we sold our home, ourcustom built home.
Like we had a beautiful homethat we had built.
Custom.
And back when I built it, I knewthat it had a lot of equity in
it, and I was sitting on thatequity.
And when the opportunity came upto open um our restaurants, we
sold our home and moved in withmy parents to get the seed money
(13:08):
to open the restaurant.
So that's what I mean by takinga risk.
It's not, you know, that wasbig, that was a huge risk to
like sell everything and move itwith my parents.
Yes, many people would do that,and not many people have the
opportunity to do it, if quitefrankly.
And you know, it was just reallya blessing that we were able to
take advantage of that,especially not knowing what is
(13:30):
going to happen.
SPEAKER_00 (13:31):
It's like I'm going to take a risk on myself, I'm
going to invest in myself.
And I love how you said at thebeginning, like the world will
tell you no, but you toldyourself yes.
SPEAKER_02 (13:45):
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (13:46):
And a lot of times we don't tell ourselves yes
because we're so busy listeningto what the world tells us.
And because you invested inyourself, because you have these
rents, uh you didn't open one uhrestaurant, honey.
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
She said, I have restaurants plural, plural, you
open restaurants, but in thegame, you have to have well, you
know, in the franchise game ofthe restaurant business, you
have you're not gonna get richof one.
You know, they say mostmillionaires have to have seven
(14:23):
streams of income to become amillionaire, and that's I I just
said that yeah, so I'm workingon my streams, okay?
Okay, seven streams of income.
If you talk to anybody who's inthe restaurant business or who's
in the franchise business,you're gonna you might have
five.
(14:43):
You're gonna have one or twothat's struggling, you know,
like and it's just a numbersgame at that point.
And you know, also when youbring something to your area in
your city, other people aregonna look around and be like,
oh, that's a good idea.
They're gonna try to steal it.
So, you know, you got to beatthem to the punch, you gotta
grow big fast.
And that's what we did.
(15:03):
And right now we're kind of, youknow, we we we're just trying to
settle, you know.
And you know, you hear the wordhit a plateau and you think it's
bad, it's not always bad.
SPEAKER_03 (15:13):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (15:13):
I feel like we're at a plateau and I'm trying to
stand on that that that goodfirm plateau ground, okay?
So no problem with being on myplateau.
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Let me sit there.
Okay, okay, but you you madebrunch so much more than brunch.
Like, would you create likeculture on a plate?
So, how did this uh brick andspoon uh become more than just
food?
Like it it became uh areflection of southern uh
(15:46):
luxury.
Like, what is the intentionbehind this?
Like when you're uh whensomebody walks into these doors,
how do you want them to feel?
What do you do you want them tosee?
What is the uh experience thatyou wanted when you came up with
uh brick and uh spoon?
(16:09):
And how do you stay rooted inyour community when you expand
in such a major way?
SPEAKER_02 (16:22):
I ain't got no choice but to be rooted in it
from the community come on,Carrie, right there in the cool
window.
Come on, I res you know, I'm inthe hospitality state.
Mississippi is the hospitalitystate in Louisiana.
Uh uh, something that peopledon't understand where I'm from,
coastal Mississippi.
We're on the state line.
My husband is from Louisiana,he's from Slaudell.
(16:44):
You know, my dad used to work inNew Orleans and commutes in New
Orleans every day.
Like, that's our culture.
I grew up listening to Q93radio, so like my culture is
Creole, Mississippi, Louisianaculture.
So, like for me, that's justwhat we do.
Think about it.
When you when your grandma andthem come over for the weekend
(17:04):
or whatever, your aunties comefrom out of town, they're gonna
make a big pot of gumbo.
They're gonna make somepotatoes, we will, they're gonna
cook, you're gonna have yourcrawfish, you're gonna have your
your food.
That is what we do in the south.
We we we want people to havethat experience with food.
That's how we show love.
(17:24):
Now, my husband differ becausehe'll say, Babe, you don't cook
that much.
But listen, I have to tell him,Fed is best, baby.
You get fed, though, ain't you?
You ain't you don't look likeyou miss no meals, but like I
can cook.
I just I'm not able to practiceas often as I would like.
But in our culture, we that'show we show love to our guests
(17:46):
in our hospital, it showssouthern hospitality.
And I want my restaurant, mychild over here trying to get
some money.
Okay, but thank you.
He's he's talking about he'strying to go get some ramen from
the restaurant this time.
SPEAKER_00 (18:00):
No ramen.
Ooh, but but but I love me agood ramen bowl, though.
SPEAKER_02 (18:05):
But you know, my restaurant is all about so
brunch.
Think about what brunch is it isbetween breakfast and breakfast
and lunch.
It's no pressure, but you're notrushing for brunch, you're
taking your time.
You know, breakfast, yourushing, you're trying to get
up, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, getout the door.
It's like that little dance.
But brunch is a chill time, it'swhere you put on your cute
(18:29):
clothes, you go, you have yourmimosa, you have your good
blooded Mary, and you have somefriends, and that's the culture.
I mean, literally, that's theculture of brunching in just in
everywhere.
And so we needed that on theGulf Coast.
So, like I said earlier, whenyou're solving a problem, you
know, that's that is the fatherof invention.
(18:51):
No, the mother, excuse me, themother of invention.
Thank you.
And so we brought the firstbrunch restaurant to the
Mississippi Gulf Coast, andpeople loved it.
We shared our story, you know.
We we did a groundbreaking wherewe had all these people like
there have been people that havecome to my restaurant and cried
(19:11):
with me.
Because I, baby, I cry, baby.
I I look just I I did soemotional.
Yeah, I am so emotional.
I cry for anything, girl.
And when people come and tellyou how your story has impacted
them, it's like I was thatlittle girl.
(19:32):
Yes, you know, like that is thebest part of my job when people
tell me like you shared thestory and it changed the way I
thought, or the way I looked atsomething, or you inspired me to
go do XYZ.
That's the best part of what Iget to do.
SPEAKER_00 (19:53):
Did did you ever think that you doing what you
are doing now, that you buildingthis lecture, that you telling
your story would inspire peoplelike that so much?
That would touch people in thatway.
SPEAKER_02 (20:08):
I don't think I realized how how important it
would be to them.
I knew it was important to me,but I didn't know how important
it would be to others.
And especially like the elders.
You know, you'll have peoplecome in the restaurant and
they'll be like, I heard it'sloud.
And you know, they'rewhispering.
And I'm like, baby, say it.
(20:30):
It's you welcome to say it loud.
You are not a number here.
Like, I'm looking, I'm lookingfor you.
SPEAKER_00 (20:39):
Man, do you like I don't know if you know, but to
make people feel seen, to makepeople feel validated, to be in
a space where I know that I feellike I belong, where I'm not
(20:59):
just a number.
I'm I'm not just somebody thatyou're getting money from.
Like I'm an actual person.
And that is what you have builtis amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (21:16):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (21:17):
And I you have you have built something that I'm
just trying, girl, to keep itgoing.
So look, y'all, y'all come eatwith me, please.
You you're not even trying, likeyou are doing, like, like you
are doing the damn thing in amajor, major way.
Look at look at them, girl.
They they like we we we are realmamas around here, like this is
(21:42):
real mama stuff.
Yeah, like this is not no, thisthis is mom life in real time.
This is mama life in real time.
SPEAKER_02 (21:51):
Yeah, this is real time, real, the realist.
Babe, they didn't came to thiscall talking about mommy.
Uh, it's time to go.
Not yet.
Hold on, but let me hold on, butlet me tell you the best part.
Come here, come here, Joao.
SPEAKER_03 (22:05):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (22:08):
Me, no, no, not not wait.
He said, let me show you thebestest part.
Yeah, so let's show the bestpart.
SPEAKER_01 (22:16):
But we're the cry.
SPEAKER_02 (22:18):
Look at this.
Oh, fix the face, fix the face,fix the face.
Yeah, fix your face.
Can you see the shirt?
SPEAKER_01 (22:24):
Hey, beautiful.
Do you see the shirt?
Who is that?
SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
That's not you working on the job.
Can you see the shirt though?
Brick and spoon, baby.
Brick and spoon.
My shirt.
My shirt.
SPEAKER_02 (22:38):
You wanted to wear it.
Who's that?
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
Because she wants to be like mama, and that is a
beautiful thing.
Because I want to be a boss likemy mommy.
Who wants to be a boss likemommy?
Raise his hand.
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Period.
Go to the MBA.
SPEAKER_02 (22:56):
Oh, you want to go to the MA, but keep working
harder.
You will.
Okay.
Okay, y'all gotta sit down.
If I I love it.
Sit down.
Sit down.
Yes, sit down.
Yes, sit down, please.
Y'all sit down.
I'm doing a I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
(23:17):
Y'all have to be quiet.
If y'all are gonna be a part ofthis, y'all have to be quiet.
SPEAKER_00 (23:22):
All right, thank y'all.
Oh, see that southern.
Did y'all hear that?
Yes, ma'am.
Did y'all hear that?
Yes, ma'am, baby.
That's southern hospitality atits finest.
That's yes, ma'am.
Because we raise our children tosay, yes, ma'am, yes, sir,
ma'am.
You don't get that everywhere.
I'm just saying, I'm not no, youdon't.
(23:45):
And with my butt means that youare raising them the right way.
Okay.
Southern hospitality at itsfinest.
But let me tell you something.
Brunch has become such a staple.
Stable, yes, especially for us.
(24:06):
Because, baby, I love, I don'tget dressed up to go to
breakfast.
I don't get dressed up to go tolunch.
But when you tell me that I'mgoing to brunch, baby, I'm
getting cute.
I'm putting on my because I knowthat I'm about to have some good
food.
And okay, lashes.
I'm I'm making sure I amtogether because I know that it
(24:28):
will be a vibe.
And I want to go to a good, youknow, spot where it's a vibe.
SPEAKER_03 (24:35):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (24:35):
Because that's what it is.
SPEAKER_03 (24:37):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
With good food and good fun and community.
And that's what I love about it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:45):
I love this.
So, okay, we have to talk aboutbecause you mentioned it, so we
got to talk about it.
The amazing race.
Oh, how did that even stop?
Because listen, when you wascalling yourselves, the two
country, was it crunchy countrygirls from Mississippi?
(25:09):
But but I love that you ownthat.
I love that you own that, buthow did that even come about?
SPEAKER_02 (25:15):
So that was a part of the process, and actually,
that's a part of the processthat with the amazing race that
I hold dear for me is that Ieven got us on the show.
And so my cousin wanted to be onthe show, and she came to me
with this idea, and I was like,all right, I got you.
And this was back in 2009.
(25:37):
Think about it, we had a SonyVio laptop.
Nobody had phones with videosand stuff.
So I recorded our you girl, youcan go find our audition video
on YouTube, actually.
And I'm so proud of it because Ididn't even have the same tools
that I have nowadays.
And, you know, it was reallylike having um focus groups with
(25:59):
my family and really narrowingit down, like what makes us
different.
What can we provide to the showthat they just won't be able to
say no to?
And you know, how can we becomelike an archetype?
You know, not a stereotype, butan archetype, something that is
like, you know, a symbol ofwhat?
(26:20):
And so we were like, you know,we're the country girls from
Mississippi, and you know, I wasI just got married that year.
We were getting ready to turn30.
So we're still in our 20s, andwe were just really fun, loving,
and just, you know, countrysouthern, not afraid to get
dirty, but still cute, you know,okay.
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
Because we we can we can go mudd, but we can be cute
while we're mudding, right?
SPEAKER_02 (26:49):
We have a weird side that we ride in mud riding, yes,
absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
So, how did that competing shift your mindset?
SPEAKER_02 (27:03):
It's so one just carrying all that stuff on my
back, you know, it kind of mademe understand that I don't need
a lot in this world to besuccessful.
At that time in my life, it itwas it was a good moment for me
to be like, okay, I got this.
You know, you don't need all theextra stuff.
(27:24):
You just you just need yourwits, you know, you just need
you and you know, a spirit of, Igot this.
Um just being a part of that, itgave me a taste of show business
and being in the industry.
Okay.
And, you know, I've always beena creative.
The word influencer is thrownaround, right?
(27:44):
But like, it's not a bad term tome because it just means you
have influence.
And, you know, some people usetheir influence for good, some
people use it negatively, but Ialways want to use mine to share
what I've learned because I loveto learn.
You know, even in my 40s, Istill want to learn.
I want to learn how to bebetter, and I want to learn what
resources I can use to help meto be better or to bring
(28:07):
something to somebody else.
So, you know, being in showbusiness in that moment kind of
taught me how being creative andhow you know thinking outside
can help you to stand out andjust have a good time and to,
you know, make a statement inlife.
SPEAKER_00 (28:25):
I love that.
I I love how you word things andeverything that you say comes
back to mindset, everything thatyou say come comes back to you
telling yourself yes.
Everything that you say, youbecome more self-aware, like you
(28:47):
bring it back to yourselfbecause it's not about what the
outside world says or does, it'show that helps you grow.
And I love how you makeeverything into that type of
message, like okay, I've donethis, so how did this help help
me grow?
I did this, how did this help megrow?
SPEAKER_02 (29:10):
Snowball that is an amazing thing going from one
thing to the next, snowballeffect, and how you know, one
piece of success.
And you know, people think thatsuccess is just like this uphill
trajectory, and it's not becauseI've done several things that
you know, I even forget to talkabout some of the things.
My sister and I owned a retailstore back in 2006 to 2008.
(29:33):
We owned a shoe store called theshoe warehouse.
And when I moved back home aftercollege, I told myself, you
know, if I'm gonna come backhome, I want to do something
different.
I want to do something, youknow, amazing.
And so we put our money togetherand we we bought our inventory,
we rented out a building and ashopping center, and we opened a
shoe store.
(29:54):
And that to this day, I stillhave my customers who come to me
and they're like, oh my.
God, we love this new warehouse,we miss it.
It was a part of the community,and our customers knew it was
theirs, it was a place that theycould go and feel at home and
feel valued.
(30:14):
And I'm saying all this to say,even though our store closed in
2008, well, that was when theeconomy went sour, you know, but
it wasn't a failure, it was alearning experience.
And I the things that I learnedfrom that have taken me into you
know furthering my steps in thehospitality business and where I
am today with my restaurant,because some of the things I
(30:35):
learned then, I'm using themnow.
SPEAKER_00 (30:39):
I love that.
I I love how you use everythingas a learning experience.
Speaking of which, we have cometo my favorite part of the show.
Ask Alethea.
Okay, so this one comes fromDelta Diva, and she says,
(31:02):
Alethea, I've got a vision, Ihave a gift, I have a business
idea, but I keep getting stuckon the how.
I'm scared to start and I'mscared to fail.
How do I know when it's time togo all in, or should I just give
it up?
(31:23):
I will let you answer first.
SPEAKER_02 (31:26):
I would say just get started because it oh, it's a
turn.
Oh, what is it?
It's eluding me right now.
Perfect is the enemy of done.
You cannot wait until things areperfect because it's never gonna
(31:46):
be perfect.
You just gotta get started soyou can get it done and you can
learn as you go.
Because, like, like I said, Ihad my shoe store, it didn't
fail.
I made some money, I closed mydoors, I went on to the next
thing.
So, all of those tools are stillin my tool belt.
Nobody can take those tools awayfrom me because they're in my
brain.
(32:06):
So sometimes you just have tostart small.
You know, if she wants to open asay if she wants to open a
restaurant, maybe let's start byselling plates.
You know, people do that all thetime in the neighborhood.
You know, they're gonna sellplates.
Make a name for yourself, startbranding yourself, start with
whatever it is you're gonna wantto do, you know, an online store
(32:28):
or whatever it is, but just getstarted.
Do not wait because time is ofthe essence.
And a lot of my friends in inthe business world I've talked
to, millionaires.
What is the one thing that hasseparated them?
Because trust me, some of thebillionaires, some of the
millionaires I know, they'reregular people.
(32:48):
They're not any smart.
I know people that I knowseveral people that I would say
maybe smarter than them, but theone thing they did was stay
consistent.
Consistency has been the key ineverybody that I know that has a
bag, they got a million bags.
They stayed consistent.
So they got started, theystarted learning and perfecting
(33:11):
their craft while they weredoing it, and they stayed with
it.
SPEAKER_00 (33:15):
Delta Diva, like I ain't even gonna say nothing
because Carrie done saideverything that I wanted to say,
and then some.
But listen, what I do have tosay is the only time you fail is
when you stop.
And if you haven't stopped yet,if you haven't stopped yet, then
you haven't failed.
SPEAKER_02 (33:31):
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (33:32):
So keep going, keep telling yourself, yes, do not
give up on you.
Exactly, do not give up on you,because once you give up, once
you stop, that is when you fail.
That is it.
So, baby, follow it, followeverything that you want to do.
Look, but did you die?
(33:54):
Okay, but did you die?
And you didn't.
People say that you only liveonce, but no, you live every
day, so live every day like itis your last, and do everything
in your life that you want todo, and you are going to achieve
it.
Keep pushing, keep hustling,believing in yourself.
(34:17):
Yes, don't know.
I hope that that answers yourquestion, Miss Delta Diva.
Okay, so listen, since you aremy sister from the dirty, dirty
soul, we're gonna play this gamecalled grits or go home.
So you have to.
I'm gonna give you two choices,no overthinking, you just have
(34:39):
to pick one that speaks to yoursoul, and I'ma see if Carrie is
a real southern sister.
Grit or go home.
SPEAKER_02 (34:50):
All right, I got you.
SPEAKER_00 (34:53):
Okay.
Let's see, let's see, let's see,let's see.
Let's do well wait.
I got one even better.
Stuff fried or fixed to go.
(35:13):
Stuff fried or fixed to go,grits or biscuits.
SPEAKER_02 (35:24):
Stuff fried or fix to go for biscuits?
SPEAKER_00 (35:27):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (35:29):
All three.
SPEAKER_00 (35:40):
Stuff, listen.
SPEAKER_02 (35:46):
Stuff, I like stuff sounds real good to me.
We got one that we we smother.
So that's stuff that'ssmothered.
Um, fried is gallet, like I grewup eating.
You know, gala is basically uhanother version of a beignet.
It's a it's a fried biscuit, andthen everything's so good, and
my stomach big, my eyes arebigger than my stomach, so I
gotta fix it to go because I puttoo much on my plate.
SPEAKER_00 (36:08):
Same.
Okay, which one would yourather?
Sweet tea or mimosa.
SPEAKER_03 (36:15):
Sweet.
Oh, sweet tea, because I'm toooh god, I drink sweet tea every
day.
SPEAKER_02 (36:21):
Sweet tea is my life.
I know I need to say mimosabecause I'm a mimosa kind of
sore, but baby, I got to get mysweet tea, baby, with a lot of
lemon.
Okay, all my friends.
Okay, extra lemon.
SPEAKER_00 (36:36):
Okay, okay.
I already know what you're gonnasay Sunday soul food or Saturday
brunch, Saturday brunch, baby,all day.
Okay, this is this is one thatpeople always get mixed up, and
(36:58):
this is where I'm gonna know ifyou a real Southern girl,
especially me coming fromLouisiana, Cajun or Creole,
because there is a difference,girl.
SPEAKER_02 (37:11):
Me and my husband had a whole car fight behind
this, so I already know becauseit's not the same thing, it's
not the same thing.
Okay, come on, Saval, how yourmama now?
Oh, okay, because Cajun andCreole is not the same thing,
it's different, they they canoverlap, but it's not the same.
(37:32):
And I tell my husband that allthe time.
I'm like, baby, we Creole, we'renot Cajun.
Yeah, maybe you might havesomebody from way back up, but
Cajun as a Cadiana, they fromCanada, they're Canada,
Canadians.
SPEAKER_00 (37:44):
Like people, and I hate whenever restaurants say
Cajun because they add redpepper to it.
That ain't Cajun, that's notCajun.
Stop saying that's Cajun thatjust has red pepper on it that
don't make it Cajun.
SPEAKER_02 (38:00):
But wait, you from Lafayette, right?
Yes, I am.
So y'all's Louisiana culture isjust a little, I mean, it's it's
all the same, but it's a littledifferent because I've I've been
studying, baby.
I've been studying um the LaLafayette folks, and we go up
there every now and then, andy'all have some more traditions
(38:20):
that we don't have.
Y'all's Marty Girl, baby,y'all's Marty Girl baby is very
crunk.
Y'all got Mr.
Weather off.
I had somebody from New Orleansthe other day, they had never
heard of Mr.
Weather.
I was like, how you haven'theard of him?
I heard of them.
SPEAKER_00 (38:33):
Lit.
Well, since we are talkingabout, and yes, I'm about to
start some controversy.
I'm being messy.
This is my last question beforeI let you go, and I'm being
messy, 337 or 504.
(38:57):
Food watch.
You gotta answer it.
SPEAKER_01 (39:00):
Who got the best food?
Do not lie, Carrie.
Do not lie.
985, what else?
That was not the question.
That was not the question.
She she she tried to just lieher way on that question.
I know y'all got y'all boudin.
SPEAKER_02 (39:21):
Okay, y'all got y'all boudin over there.
I like boudin, but it's not afave.
Okay, I know y'all's gumbo lookdifferent from ours.
Is y'all's gumbo brown gravy orred gravy?
SPEAKER_00 (39:34):
Red, brown.
What color yours?
Who made gumbo?
Okay, so red.
The only time it's red is if ithave like okra in it because
they because some people uselike some tomato paste, but most
of the time is brown, likebecause we make our room, uh,
roof from scratch.
(39:56):
Like, we don't get that out nojaw.
Like I've heard that.
504.
SPEAKER_02 (40:01):
I've heard that in uh up there, 337.
Y'all had a red gravy.
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
Now we do have sausage and red gravy.
But it's probably the last andit and it is, and it is.
SPEAKER_02 (40:17):
Well, see, my my sister-in-law went to school in
La Pierre.
Like, we go, you know, we passthrough, we go.
Like, so the franchise or whosaw the brick and spoon, they're
from Port Barry, Louisiana.
Okay, so like he's from up thereby uh Appalousis, right?
No, no.
Is he from up?
(40:38):
It's right there by Appaloosis,right?
While the Creole's off, yes,yes, yes, baby.
Listen, Lafayette, you're like Ishow love, okay?
All of us, thank you, thank you,Miss Carrie.
SPEAKER_00 (40:53):
Let me tell you something.
I don't know if y'all have heardeverything that Miss Carrie has
done, but Miss Carrie issomething powerful, she is
something amazing, she isbuilding something that is
intentional, rooted, andrevolutionary all at the same
time.
If there's one thing, just onething that you want to pass on
(41:15):
to women, mamas, dreamers, doersto remember after this episode
what would your message be?
SPEAKER_02 (41:29):
That you can achieve the desires of your heart.
Yes, there is nothing standingbetween you and success but
yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (41:40):
So get out of your own way, get out of your move
and go get it, get out the way.
SPEAKER_03 (41:47):
That's right.
Wait, okay.
SPEAKER_00 (41:49):
Baby, y'all better run to brick and spoon.
If you are on the Gulf Coast,don't walk, run.
And while you at it, follow MissCarrie Paul, baby.
Follow Miss Carrie Paul, baby.
Where can we follow you and findyou?
SPEAKER_02 (42:06):
The Carrie Paul on Instagram, K-E-R-R-I, Paul Like,
Paul Bunyan, the Carrie Paul onInstagram, TikTok, Snapchat.
Y'all hit me on Snapchat.
I'll be snapping all over thesocial medias.
SPEAKER_00 (42:23):
Baby, y'all go out there and follow the Carrie
Paul.
And remember, you do not have tobe perfect to be powerful.
No, you just have to be here.
No, you just have to be who youare.
You just gotta get started.
You that's right, and know thatyou can do anything that you set
(42:45):
your mind to because you can.
That's right, you can, MissKerry Paul.
Thank you so much for joining mein the passenger seat.
Bye, my babies.
Bye.
SPEAKER_01 (42:55):
Thank you.
Y'all have a good day onpurpose.
Yes.
Oh, hi buddy.
Bye.
I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
Hello, hello, honey.
It's your honey girl.
Y'all already know it's Aliciacrippling your positivity queen.
And I'm pimping positivity inthe passenger seat.
Listen, the person that I havein the passenger seat today is
not only gorgeous, okay?
She is a serial entrepreneur, acontent creator, a restaurateur,
(00:44):
a cultural storyteller, and justan all-around boss, baby, from
Mississippi.
M I S S I S S I Cookie Letter,Cookie Letter, listen.
Y'all already know she's fromMississippi, baby, the dirty,
dirty south.
So you already know that she'smy sister from another mistake,
okay?
(01:04):
And she's here to show y'all andtell y'all how to build your
dream without begging for a seatat a table that wasn't built for
you in the first place.
Because why are we begging for aseat at the table when we can
create our own?
That part, that part.
Why are we begging for seats attable when we can create our
(01:27):
own?
Okay, she is the co-owner ofthree count them.
One, two, three brick and spoonrestaurants across the Gulf
Coast, Beluxie, Gulfport, andMobile.
She's come, she has competed onthe amazing race.
She's gone viral for talkingabout her southern upbringing,
(01:51):
secure the bag.
Okay, she's worked withcompanies like Ford, honey.
She's raising daughters, andthat is not an easy task.
Okay, not an easy task whilestill building a business that
reflects not just her, not justher vision, but her values.
SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
Yes, Miss Carrie, baby.
Welcome.
The intro was so good, baby.
My phone got snatched, baby.
Snatch my phone.
SPEAKER_02 (02:38):
Girl, you made me sound real good, sis.
SPEAKER_00 (02:42):
Because you are real good, sis.
Listen, you are real good, andyou're doing some real good
things out here in thesestreets.
SPEAKER_02 (02:50):
Thank you, girl.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
So I want to give you your flowers now because you
deserve it.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (02:58):
Thank you.
I'm just a tired mama at the endof the day, same as everybody
else.
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
Listen, because I have three kids of my own, but
they are grown.
But now I have my grandbabythat's living with me, and I'm
just like, oh baby, starting allover again is not easy.
SPEAKER_02 (03:17):
Yes, with these alphas.
What are we gonna do?
What we gonna do about it?
Pray, pray hard, hard.
And mine talking about mama.
You better remember to pray.
Last night she told me that.
Say your prayers.
I'm like, girl, if you don'tleave me alone.
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
Oh listen, she train them up, raise them up, right?
SPEAKER_02 (03:44):
They're trying to raise me up though.
That's a problem.
SPEAKER_00 (03:50):
Because they they always think that they know,
like it's like right now, we areno longer raising little kids,
we are raising miniature adults,people, yes, humans, type humans
that think that they're theparents, yes, and they try to
get us together, yes.
(04:12):
Now, for the people that do notknow who you are, introduce
yourself.
SPEAKER_02 (04:18):
So I'm Carrie Paul, I'm just a regular little
southern girl that had somehopes and dreams, and you know,
I'm making them happen everyday.
Um, I own three brunchrestaurants, brick and spoon.
And you've already said allthese things, but I think um my
biggest takeaway, what I wantpeople to know about me, is I'm
(04:42):
a mompreneur, and I'm just awoman who said no to the mess
and the BS of corporate America,and I said yes to me.
And I really had to learn how topivot, and I didn't mind
pivoting.
And look, here my businesspartner just messing up my call
(05:06):
in the back of my trunk.
So this is real life businessand real life mom life.
Look, I love it.
I love it.
Hold on, let me let me let y'allsee her since you want to get in
the get on in now, Brittany.
Yeah, go ahead.
So the store.
Thank you.
I love it.
(05:27):
Real life mompreneur life,that's what we do.
SPEAKER_03 (05:29):
I have I'm about to start lighting the twins up.
SPEAKER_02 (05:32):
Okay, so I have a set of twins.
So I have Irish triplets, what Icall Irish triplets.
So I have a set of twins andtheir baby sister who was born
the following year.
And my business partner hastwins plus one as well.
So we are really mompreneur, andall of our twins and triplets
and all these children are atthe restaurant right now.
We've had a work day togetherwith children in our space and
(05:53):
all in our face, and we justreally have to know how to
juggle.
And I mean, baby, we in acircus.
SPEAKER_00 (06:00):
Okay, listen.
I cannot imagine.
I cannot imagine twins, twinsplus one.
SPEAKER_02 (06:08):
Yes.
Both of us have that.
SPEAKER_00 (06:09):
I cannot imagine.
I I I promise you I could not.
SPEAKER_02 (06:13):
No, I worked in corporate America for you know,
a while.
And it's so I'm also a contentcreator.
So an influencer.
And a lot of people just knowinfluencers as like, you know,
the 25-year-old girlies, andthey're just like Instagram
models, this, that, and thethird.
But like, I'm a real grownwoman.
I'm 43 years old.
(06:34):
I've worked in corporateAmerica.
You know, I I bring, I feel likesome of my business and
corporate elements into mysocial media world.
And, you know, like I actuallyworked a real job.
A lot of people in that industryhave not.
So, you know, I'm a mom, I'm areal woman.
I I know how to get it becauseguess what?
(06:57):
If you don't, you ain't gonnahave none.
Basically, you gotta learn howto get it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:02):
You can learn how to hustle, especially mom.
Yes, because if because if wedon't do it, like we can't look
for anybody to save us, like wehave to get it how we live,
because at the end of the day, Ihave to make sure that my baby's
got it.
That's right.
Nine times out of ten, I am theonly one that can give it to
(07:23):
them.
SPEAKER_02 (07:24):
And you want them, you know.
For me, one thing that I liketo, I guess, share or think
about or talk about is buildingthat generational wealth because
for my family, you know, myparents, they didn't come from
much, but my dad was from theEast Coast and he moved down
south.
And, you know, he actually didgo to college and he did have an
(07:46):
engineering degree, and he wentto the Air Force and became an
officer in the Air Force, and hedid some things that a lot of
us, our parents did not have theopportunity to do.
And so moving down south, healways had that hustle mentality
because you know, people fromthe east coast, they come down
here and they say it's slow, orthey, you know, they used to
(08:08):
that hustle, that bustle, thatcity life.
But my dad brought that to us,entire family.
SPEAKER_03 (08:13):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (08:14):
So coming from the east coast, he, you know, he
came down to the MississippiGulf Coast and I was like, oh my
God, there's so like the worldis your oyster, literally.
Like you can do anything, youcan be anything here.
And my dad, even though hewasn't an entrepreneur working
at Centers Space Center andNASA, he had all kinds of
entrepreneurial ventures.
And I always saw that, and mymom did as well.
(08:34):
And I always saw that growingup, and my parents really
working for themselves and likehustling and not afraid to have
five, six, seven jobs or youknow, buying property and having
apartments and being landlords.
I saw that growing up.
That's the world I lived in.
That was my lived experience.
So, you know, I you always wantto build upon that for the next
(08:55):
generation.
And it's what lets me know that,you know, as a mom or a preneur
rather, I'm doing the rightthing for my kids, you know,
giving them that.
SPEAKER_00 (09:05):
So you are okay, so we're gonna get into this
because what you are talkingabout is legacy in motion.
Yes, this is what you you'redoing, like you were raised
around it.
Yes, your mom owns aconstruction cleaning business,
(09:26):
yes.
Okay, yeah, so uh what didwatching that kind of hustle uh
teach you about buildingsomething that lasts?
Because that's that's whatyou're doing now, you're
building something that lasts.
So, what what did that teach youabout watching it by being
(09:46):
around it every single day?
How did that help you now?
SPEAKER_02 (09:51):
It taught me one that women are leaders.
I've never had a moment where Ithought that the boss is only a
man, you know, because in myworld, both of my parents were
bosses, and my mom wasdefinitely the boss.
So I I grew up thinking that Icould do anything, that I could,
(10:14):
you know, touch anything that Iput my mind to because I saw her
do it.
Seeing my parents achieve, itgave me an open worldview that I
could do it.
And I did, you know, I know alot of us in our communities, we
have a, you know, kind of like afear or like this like cloud
hanging over our head wherewe're like, uh, but is it gonna
(10:36):
be hard or is it gonna be, Ijust I don't have that.
And it also gave me a safetynet, so to speak, so that I
could take risks because myparents had, you know, my dad
built our home, my childhoodhome.
He built it with his own hands.
And I mean, it's a pretty largetwo-story home that we grew up
in, and they still have thathome now.
(10:58):
And so for me, that gave me as ayoung adult the flexibility to
take risks because in the backof my head, I'm like, okay, I'm
what I got to lose.
You know, if something happened,I go stay with my mom and them,
you know, like I'll go live inone of their homes.
It's just a sense of security.
And I think it's it's not a 100%anomaly, but I think it's
(11:20):
something that a lot of peopleof color and a lot of families
are cut of color are being ableto experience that type of leg
up, I guess.
You know, you see that in othercommunities often, but that has
been my lived experience.
And I don't think that Iunderstood until I became an
adult how beneficial that was tome to be able to have that
(11:42):
security net.
And that's probably a big reasonwhy I did take some of the risk
that I took.
SPEAKER_00 (11:48):
So when you say risk, what what type of risk
have you taken thus far as a bigbusiness owner?
SPEAKER_02 (11:59):
So, well, I will say, you know, years ago when I
was on the Amazing Race back in2010, that was a big risk
because I had to take off workand I had a corporate job.
I worked for the city as aprogram coordinator.
And I the I had to take I'veworked for about a month.
And I mean, most people wouldn'tdo that.
You know, I was in my late 20s,but most people would be afraid
(12:20):
to lose their job.
And quite frankly, when I gotback, they had changed my job
some.
And shortly thereafter, I didleave.
But like I said, it enabled meto have a thought process of
okay, I'm gonna go for this thatI want to do because I'm not
gonna die.
You know, what's gonna happen?
Or um when we opened ourrestaurant, I sold everything.
(12:44):
Like we sold our home, ourcustom built home.
Like we had a beautiful homethat we had built.
Custom.
And back when I built it, I knewthat it had a lot of equity in
it, and I was sitting on thatequity.
And when the opportunity came upto open um our restaurants, we
sold our home and moved in withmy parents to get the seed money
(13:08):
to open the restaurant.
So that's what I mean by takinga risk.
It's not, you know, that wasbig, that was a huge risk to
like sell everything and move itwith my parents.
Yes, many people would do that,and not many people have the
opportunity to do it, if quitefrankly.
And you know, it was just reallya blessing that we were able to
take advantage of that,especially not knowing what is
(13:30):
going to happen.
SPEAKER_00 (13:31):
It's like I'm going to take a risk on myself, I'm
going to invest in myself.
And I love how you said at thebeginning, like the world will
tell you no, but you toldyourself yes.
SPEAKER_02 (13:45):
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (13:46):
And a lot of times we don't tell ourselves yes
because we're so busy listeningto what the world tells us.
And because you invested inyourself, because you have these
rents, uh you didn't open one uhrestaurant, honey.
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
She said, I have restaurants plural, plural, you
open restaurants, but in thegame, you have to have well, you
know, in the franchise game ofthe restaurant business, you
have you're not gonna get richof one.
You know, they say mostmillionaires have to have seven
(14:23):
streams of income to become amillionaire, and that's I I just
said that yeah, so I'm workingon my streams, okay?
Okay, seven streams of income.
If you talk to anybody who's inthe restaurant business or who's
in the franchise business,you're gonna you might have
five.
(14:43):
You're gonna have one or twothat's struggling, you know,
like and it's just a numbersgame at that point.
And you know, also when youbring something to your area in
your city, other people aregonna look around and be like,
oh, that's a good idea.
They're gonna try to steal it.
So, you know, you got to beatthem to the punch, you gotta
grow big fast.
And that's what we did.
(15:03):
And right now we're kind of, youknow, we we we're just trying to
settle, you know.
And you know, you hear the wordhit a plateau and you think it's
bad, it's not always bad.
SPEAKER_03 (15:13):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (15:13):
I feel like we're at a plateau and I'm trying to
stand on that that that goodfirm plateau ground, okay?
So no problem with being on myplateau.
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Let me sit there.
Okay, okay, but you you madebrunch so much more than brunch.
Like, would you create likeculture on a plate?
So, how did this uh brick andspoon uh become more than just
food?
Like it it became uh areflection of southern uh
(15:46):
luxury.
Like, what is the intentionbehind this?
Like when you're uh whensomebody walks into these doors,
how do you want them to feel?
What do you do you want them tosee?
What is the uh experience thatyou wanted when you came up with
uh brick and uh spoon?
(16:09):
And how do you stay rooted inyour community when you expand
in such a major way?
SPEAKER_02 (16:22):
I ain't got no choice but to be rooted in it
from the community come on,Carrie, right there in the cool
window.
Come on, I res you know, I'm inthe hospitality state.
Mississippi is the hospitalitystate in Louisiana.
Uh uh, something that peopledon't understand where I'm from,
coastal Mississippi.
We're on the state line.
My husband is from Louisiana,he's from Slaudell.
(16:44):
You know, my dad used to work inNew Orleans and commutes in New
Orleans every day.
Like, that's our culture.
I grew up listening to Q93radio, so like my culture is
Creole, Mississippi, Louisianaculture.
So, like for me, that's justwhat we do.
Think about it.
When you when your grandma andthem come over for the weekend
(17:04):
or whatever, your aunties comefrom out of town, they're gonna
make a big pot of gumbo.
They're gonna make somepotatoes, we will, they're gonna
cook, you're gonna have yourcrawfish, you're gonna have your
your food.
That is what we do in the south.
We we we want people to havethat experience with food.
That's how we show love.
(17:24):
Now, my husband differ becausehe'll say, Babe, you don't cook
that much.
But listen, I have to tell him,Fed is best, baby.
You get fed, though, ain't you?
You ain't you don't look likeyou miss no meals, but like I
can cook.
I just I'm not able to practiceas often as I would like.
But in our culture, we that'show we show love to our guests
(17:46):
in our hospital, it showssouthern hospitality.
And I want my restaurant, mychild over here trying to get
some money.
Okay, but thank you.
He's he's talking about he'strying to go get some ramen from
the restaurant this time.
SPEAKER_00 (18:00):
No ramen.
Ooh, but but but I love me agood ramen bowl, though.
SPEAKER_02 (18:05):
But you know, my restaurant is all about so
brunch.
Think about what brunch is it isbetween breakfast and breakfast
and lunch.
It's no pressure, but you're notrushing for brunch, you're
taking your time.
You know, breakfast, yourushing, you're trying to get
up, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, getout the door.
It's like that little dance.
But brunch is a chill time, it'swhere you put on your cute
(18:29):
clothes, you go, you have yourmimosa, you have your good
blooded Mary, and you have somefriends, and that's the culture.
I mean, literally, that's theculture of brunching in just in
everywhere.
And so we needed that on theGulf Coast.
So, like I said earlier, whenyou're solving a problem, you
know, that's that is the fatherof invention.
(18:51):
No, the mother, excuse me, themother of invention.
Thank you.
And so we brought the firstbrunch restaurant to the
Mississippi Gulf Coast, andpeople loved it.
We shared our story, you know.
We we did a groundbreaking wherewe had all these people like
there have been people that havecome to my restaurant and cried
(19:11):
with me.
Because I, baby, I cry, baby.
I I look just I I did soemotional.
Yeah, I am so emotional.
I cry for anything, girl.
And when people come and tellyou how your story has impacted
them, it's like I was thatlittle girl.
(19:32):
Yes, you know, like that is thebest part of my job when people
tell me like you shared thestory and it changed the way I
thought, or the way I looked atsomething, or you inspired me to
go do XYZ.
That's the best part of what Iget to do.
SPEAKER_00 (19:53):
Did did you ever think that you doing what you
are doing now, that you buildingthis lecture, that you telling
your story would inspire peoplelike that so much?
That would touch people in thatway.
SPEAKER_02 (20:08):
I don't think I realized how how important it
would be to them.
I knew it was important to me,but I didn't know how important
it would be to others.
And especially like the elders.
You know, you'll have peoplecome in the restaurant and
they'll be like, I heard it'sloud.
And you know, they'rewhispering.
And I'm like, baby, say it.
(20:30):
It's you welcome to say it loud.
You are not a number here.
Like, I'm looking, I'm lookingfor you.
SPEAKER_00 (20:39):
Man, do you like I don't know if you know, but to
make people feel seen, to makepeople feel validated, to be in
a space where I know that I feellike I belong, where I'm not
(20:59):
just a number.
I'm I'm not just somebody thatyou're getting money from.
Like I'm an actual person.
And that is what you have builtis amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (21:16):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (21:17):
And I you have you have built something that I'm
just trying, girl, to keep itgoing.
So look, y'all, y'all come eatwith me, please.
You you're not even trying, likeyou are doing, like, like you
are doing the damn thing in amajor, major way.
Look at look at them, girl.
They they like we we we are realmamas around here, like this is
(21:42):
real mama stuff.
Yeah, like this is not no, thisthis is mom life in real time.
This is mama life in real time.
SPEAKER_02 (21:51):
Yeah, this is real time, real, the realist.
Babe, they didn't came to thiscall talking about mommy.
Uh, it's time to go.
Not yet.
Hold on, but let me hold on, butlet me tell you the best part.
Come here, come here, Joao.
SPEAKER_03 (22:05):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (22:08):
Me, no, no, not not wait.
He said, let me show you thebestest part.
Yeah, so let's show the bestpart.
SPEAKER_01 (22:16):
But we're the cry.
SPEAKER_02 (22:18):
Look at this.
Oh, fix the face, fix the face,fix the face.
Yeah, fix your face.
Can you see the shirt?
SPEAKER_01 (22:24):
Hey, beautiful.
Do you see the shirt?
Who is that?
SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
That's not you working on the job.
Can you see the shirt though?
Brick and spoon, baby.
Brick and spoon.
My shirt.
My shirt.
SPEAKER_02 (22:38):
You wanted to wear it.
Who's that?
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
Because she wants to be like mama, and that is a
beautiful thing.
Because I want to be a boss likemy mommy.
Who wants to be a boss likemommy?
Raise his hand.
SPEAKER_01 (22:52):
Period.
Go to the MBA.
SPEAKER_02 (22:56):
Oh, you want to go to the MA, but keep working
harder.
You will.
Okay.
Okay, y'all gotta sit down.
If I I love it.
Sit down.
Sit down.
Yes, sit down.
Yes, sit down, please.
Y'all sit down.
I'm doing a I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
(23:17):
Y'all have to be quiet.
If y'all are gonna be a part ofthis, y'all have to be quiet.
SPEAKER_00 (23:22):
All right, thank y'all.
Oh, see that southern.
Did y'all hear that?
Yes, ma'am.
Did y'all hear that?
Yes, ma'am, baby.
That's southern hospitality atits finest.
That's yes, ma'am.
Because we raise our children tosay, yes, ma'am, yes, sir,
ma'am.
You don't get that everywhere.
I'm just saying, I'm not no, youdon't.
(23:45):
And with my butt means that youare raising them the right way.
Okay.
Southern hospitality at itsfinest.
But let me tell you something.
Brunch has become such a staple.
Stable, yes, especially for us.
(24:06):
Because, baby, I love, I don'tget dressed up to go to
breakfast.
I don't get dressed up to go tolunch.
But when you tell me that I'mgoing to brunch, baby, I'm
getting cute.
I'm putting on my because I knowthat I'm about to have some good
food.
And okay, lashes.
I'm I'm making sure I amtogether because I know that it
(24:28):
will be a vibe.
And I want to go to a good, youknow, spot where it's a vibe.
SPEAKER_03 (24:35):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (24:35):
Because that's what it is.
SPEAKER_03 (24:37):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
With good food and good fun and community.
And that's what I love about it.
SPEAKER_00 (24:45):
I love this.
So, okay, we have to talk aboutbecause you mentioned it, so we
got to talk about it.
The amazing race.
Oh, how did that even stop?
Because listen, when you wascalling yourselves, the two
country, was it crunchy countrygirls from Mississippi?
(25:09):
But but I love that you ownthat.
I love that you own that, buthow did that even come about?
SPEAKER_02 (25:15):
So that was a part of the process, and actually,
that's a part of the processthat with the amazing race that
I hold dear for me is that Ieven got us on the show.
And so my cousin wanted to be onthe show, and she came to me
with this idea, and I was like,all right, I got you.
And this was back in 2009.
(25:37):
Think about it, we had a SonyVio laptop.
Nobody had phones with videosand stuff.
So I recorded our you girl, youcan go find our audition video
on YouTube, actually.
And I'm so proud of it because Ididn't even have the same tools
that I have nowadays.
And, you know, it was reallylike having um focus groups with
(25:59):
my family and really narrowingit down, like what makes us
different.
What can we provide to the showthat they just won't be able to
say no to?
And you know, how can we becomelike an archetype?
You know, not a stereotype, butan archetype, something that is
like, you know, a symbol ofwhat?
(26:20):
And so we were like, you know,we're the country girls from
Mississippi, and you know, I wasI just got married that year.
We were getting ready to turn30.
So we're still in our 20s, andwe were just really fun, loving,
and just, you know, countrysouthern, not afraid to get
dirty, but still cute, you know,okay.
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
Because we we can we can go mudd, but we can be cute
while we're mudding, right?
SPEAKER_02 (26:49):
We have a weird side that we ride in mud riding, yes,
absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (26:54):
So, how did that competing shift your mindset?
SPEAKER_02 (27:03):
It's so one just carrying all that stuff on my
back, you know, it kind of mademe understand that I don't need
a lot in this world to besuccessful.
At that time in my life, it itwas it was a good moment for me
to be like, okay, I got this.
You know, you don't need all theextra stuff.
(27:24):
You just you just need yourwits, you know, you just need
you and you know, a spirit of, Igot this.
Um just being a part of that, itgave me a taste of show business
and being in the industry.
Okay.
And, you know, I've always beena creative.
The word influencer is thrownaround, right?
(27:44):
But like, it's not a bad term tome because it just means you
have influence.
And, you know, some people usetheir influence for good, some
people use it negatively, but Ialways want to use mine to share
what I've learned because I loveto learn.
You know, even in my 40s, Istill want to learn.
I want to learn how to bebetter, and I want to learn what
resources I can use to help meto be better or to bring
(28:07):
something to somebody else.
So, you know, being in showbusiness in that moment kind of
taught me how being creative andhow you know thinking outside
can help you to stand out andjust have a good time and to,
you know, make a statement inlife.
SPEAKER_00 (28:25):
I love that.
I I love how you word things andeverything that you say comes
back to mindset, everything thatyou say come comes back to you
telling yourself yes.
Everything that you say, youbecome more self-aware, like you
(28:47):
bring it back to yourselfbecause it's not about what the
outside world says or does, it'show that helps you grow.
And I love how you makeeverything into that type of
message, like okay, I've donethis, so how did this help help
me grow?
I did this, how did this help megrow?
SPEAKER_02 (29:10):
Snowball that is an amazing thing going from one
thing to the next, snowballeffect, and how you know, one
piece of success.
And you know, people think thatsuccess is just like this uphill
trajectory, and it's not becauseI've done several things that
you know, I even forget to talkabout some of the things.
My sister and I owned a retailstore back in 2006 to 2008.
(29:33):
We owned a shoe store called theshoe warehouse.
And when I moved back home aftercollege, I told myself, you
know, if I'm gonna come backhome, I want to do something
different.
I want to do something, youknow, amazing.
And so we put our money togetherand we we bought our inventory,
we rented out a building and ashopping center, and we opened a
shoe store.
(29:54):
And that to this day, I stillhave my customers who come to me
and they're like, oh my.
God, we love this new warehouse,we miss it.
It was a part of the community,and our customers knew it was
theirs, it was a place that theycould go and feel at home and
feel valued.
(30:14):
And I'm saying all this to say,even though our store closed in
2008, well, that was when theeconomy went sour, you know, but
it wasn't a failure, it was alearning experience.
And I the things that I learnedfrom that have taken me into you
know furthering my steps in thehospitality business and where I
am today with my restaurant,because some of the things I
(30:35):
learned then, I'm using themnow.
SPEAKER_00 (30:39):
I love that.
I I love how you use everythingas a learning experience.
Speaking of which, we have cometo my favorite part of the show.
Ask Alethea.
Okay, so this one comes fromDelta Diva, and she says,
(31:02):
Alethea, I've got a vision, Ihave a gift, I have a business
idea, but I keep getting stuckon the how.
I'm scared to start and I'mscared to fail.
How do I know when it's time togo all in, or should I just give
it up?
(31:23):
I will let you answer first.
SPEAKER_02 (31:26):
I would say just get started because it oh, it's a
turn.
Oh, what is it?
It's eluding me right now.
Perfect is the enemy of done.
You cannot wait until things areperfect because it's never gonna
(31:46):
be perfect.
You just gotta get started soyou can get it done and you can
learn as you go.
Because, like, like I said, Ihad my shoe store, it didn't
fail.
I made some money, I closed mydoors, I went on to the next
thing.
So, all of those tools are stillin my tool belt.
Nobody can take those tools awayfrom me because they're in my
brain.
(32:06):
So sometimes you just have tostart small.
You know, if she wants to open asay if she wants to open a
restaurant, maybe let's start byselling plates.
You know, people do that all thetime in the neighborhood.
You know, they're gonna sellplates.
Make a name for yourself, startbranding yourself, start with
whatever it is you're gonna wantto do, you know, an online store
(32:28):
or whatever it is, but just getstarted.
Do not wait because time is ofthe essence.
And a lot of my friends in inthe business world I've talked
to, millionaires.
What is the one thing that hasseparated them?
Because trust me, some of thebillionaires, some of the
millionaires I know, they'reregular people.
(32:48):
They're not any smart.
I know people that I knowseveral people that I would say
maybe smarter than them, but theone thing they did was stay
consistent.
Consistency has been the key ineverybody that I know that has a
bag, they got a million bags.
They stayed consistent.
So they got started, theystarted learning and perfecting
(33:11):
their craft while they weredoing it, and they stayed with
it.
SPEAKER_00 (33:15):
Delta Diva, like I ain't even gonna say nothing
because Carrie done saideverything that I wanted to say,
and then some.
But listen, what I do have tosay is the only time you fail is
when you stop.
And if you haven't stopped yet,if you haven't stopped yet, then
you haven't failed.
SPEAKER_02 (33:31):
That's right.
SPEAKER_00 (33:32):
So keep going, keep telling yourself, yes, do not
give up on you.
Exactly, do not give up on you,because once you give up, once
you stop, that is when you fail.
That is it.
So, baby, follow it, followeverything that you want to do.
Look, but did you die?
(33:54):
Okay, but did you die?
And you didn't.
People say that you only liveonce, but no, you live every
day, so live every day like itis your last, and do everything
in your life that you want todo, and you are going to achieve
it.
Keep pushing, keep hustling,believing in yourself.
(34:17):
Yes, don't know.
I hope that that answers yourquestion, Miss Delta Diva.
Okay, so listen, since you aremy sister from the dirty, dirty
soul, we're gonna play this gamecalled grits or go home.
So you have to.
I'm gonna give you two choices,no overthinking, you just have
(34:39):
to pick one that speaks to yoursoul, and I'ma see if Carrie is
a real southern sister.
Grit or go home.
SPEAKER_02 (34:50):
All right, I got you.
SPEAKER_00 (34:53):
Okay.
Let's see, let's see, let's see,let's see.
Let's do well wait.
I got one even better.
Stuff fried or fixed to go.
(35:13):
Stuff fried or fixed to go,grits or biscuits.
SPEAKER_02 (35:24):
Stuff fried or fix to go for biscuits?
SPEAKER_00 (35:27):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (35:29):
All three.
SPEAKER_00 (35:40):
Stuff, listen.
SPEAKER_02 (35:46):
Stuff, I like stuff sounds real good to me.
We got one that we we smother.
So that's stuff that'ssmothered.
Um, fried is gallet, like I grewup eating.
You know, gala is basically uhanother version of a beignet.
It's a it's a fried biscuit, andthen everything's so good, and
my stomach big, my eyes arebigger than my stomach, so I
gotta fix it to go because I puttoo much on my plate.
SPEAKER_00 (36:08):
Same.
Okay, which one would yourather?
Sweet tea or mimosa.
SPEAKER_03 (36:15):
Sweet.
Oh, sweet tea, because I'm toooh god, I drink sweet tea every
day.
SPEAKER_02 (36:21):
Sweet tea is my life.
I know I need to say mimosabecause I'm a mimosa kind of
sore, but baby, I got to get mysweet tea, baby, with a lot of
lemon.
Okay, all my friends.
Okay, extra lemon.
SPEAKER_00 (36:36):
Okay, okay.
I already know what you're gonnasay Sunday soul food or Saturday
brunch, Saturday brunch, baby,all day.
Okay, this is this is one thatpeople always get mixed up, and
(36:58):
this is where I'm gonna know ifyou a real Southern girl,
especially me coming fromLouisiana, Cajun or Creole,
because there is a difference,girl.
SPEAKER_02 (37:11):
Me and my husband had a whole car fight behind
this, so I already know becauseit's not the same thing, it's
not the same thing.
Okay, come on, Saval, how yourmama now?
Oh, okay, because Cajun andCreole is not the same thing,
it's different, they they canoverlap, but it's not the same.
(37:32):
And I tell my husband that allthe time.
I'm like, baby, we Creole, we'renot Cajun.
Yeah, maybe you might havesomebody from way back up, but
Cajun as a Cadiana, they fromCanada, they're Canada,
Canadians.
SPEAKER_00 (37:44):
Like people, and I hate whenever restaurants say
Cajun because they add redpepper to it.
That ain't Cajun, that's notCajun.
Stop saying that's Cajun thatjust has red pepper on it that
don't make it Cajun.
SPEAKER_02 (38:00):
But wait, you from Lafayette, right?
Yes, I am.
So y'all's Louisiana culture isjust a little, I mean, it's it's
all the same, but it's a littledifferent because I've I've been
studying, baby.
I've been studying um the LaLafayette folks, and we go up
there every now and then, andy'all have some more traditions
(38:20):
that we don't have.
Y'all's Marty Girl, baby,y'all's Marty Girl baby is very
crunk.
Y'all got Mr.
Weather off.
I had somebody from New Orleansthe other day, they had never
heard of Mr.
Weather.
I was like, how you haven'theard of him?
I heard of them.
SPEAKER_00 (38:33):
Lit.
Well, since we are talkingabout, and yes, I'm about to
start some controversy.
I'm being messy.
This is my last question beforeI let you go, and I'm being
messy, 337 or 504.
(38:57):
Food watch.
You gotta answer it.
SPEAKER_01 (39:00):
Who got the best food?
Do not lie, Carrie.
Do not lie.
985, what else?
That was not the question.
That was not the question.
She she she tried to just lieher way on that question.
I know y'all got y'all boudin.
SPEAKER_02 (39:21):
Okay, y'all got y'all boudin over there.
I like boudin, but it's not afave.
Okay, I know y'all's gumbo lookdifferent from ours.
Is y'all's gumbo brown gravy orred gravy?
SPEAKER_00 (39:34):
Red, brown.
What color yours?
Who made gumbo?
Okay, so red.
The only time it's red is if ithave like okra in it because
they because some people uselike some tomato paste, but most
of the time is brown, likebecause we make our room, uh,
roof from scratch.
(39:56):
Like, we don't get that out nojaw.
Like I've heard that.
504.
SPEAKER_02 (40:01):
I've heard that in uh up there, 337.
Y'all had a red gravy.
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
Now we do have sausage and red gravy.
But it's probably the last andit and it is, and it is.
SPEAKER_02 (40:17):
Well, see, my my sister-in-law went to school in
La Pierre.
Like, we go, you know, we passthrough, we go.
Like, so the franchise or whosaw the brick and spoon, they're
from Port Barry, Louisiana.
Okay, so like he's from up thereby uh Appalousis, right?
No, no.
Is he from up?
(40:38):
It's right there by Appaloosis,right?
While the Creole's off, yes,yes, yes, baby.
Listen, Lafayette, you're like Ishow love, okay?
All of us, thank you, thank you,Miss Carrie.
SPEAKER_00 (40:53):
Let me tell you something.
I don't know if y'all have heardeverything that Miss Carrie has
done, but Miss Carrie issomething powerful, she is
something amazing, she isbuilding something that is
intentional, rooted, andrevolutionary all at the same
time.
If there's one thing, just onething that you want to pass on
(41:15):
to women, mamas, dreamers, doersto remember after this episode
what would your message be?
SPEAKER_02 (41:29):
That you can achieve the desires of your heart.
Yes, there is nothing standingbetween you and success but
yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (41:40):
So get out of your own way, get out of your move
and go get it, get out the way.
SPEAKER_03 (41:47):
That's right.
Wait, okay.
SPEAKER_00 (41:49):
Baby, y'all better run to brick and spoon.
If you are on the Gulf Coast,don't walk, run.
And while you at it, follow MissCarrie Paul, baby.
Follow Miss Carrie Paul, baby.
Where can we follow you and findyou?
SPEAKER_02 (42:06):
The Carrie Paul on Instagram, K-E-R-R-I, Paul Like,
Paul Bunyan, the Carrie Paul onInstagram, TikTok, Snapchat.
Y'all hit me on Snapchat.
I'll be snapping all over thesocial medias.
SPEAKER_00 (42:23):
Baby, y'all go out there and follow the Carrie
Paul.
And remember, you do not have tobe perfect to be powerful.
No, you just have to be here.
No, you just have to be who youare.
You just gotta get started.
You that's right, and know thatyou can do anything that you set
(42:45):
your mind to because you can.
That's right, you can, MissKerry Paul.
Thank you so much for joining mein the passenger seat.
Bye, my babies.
Bye.
SPEAKER_01 (42:55):
Thank you.
Y'all have a good day onpurpose.
Yes.
Oh, hi buddy.
Bye.
I love it.
I love it.
I love it.
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