This week, Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown sit down with their own marketing director, Allie Papajohn—the woman behind @eatdrinkclt. What started as a personal passion project back in 2014 has evolved into one of Charlotte’s most trusted food Instagram accounts, giving Allie a unique perspective on both sides of the influencer world.

She shares how she built her platform organically, what makes content resonate in 2026, and how she approaches authenticity in a saturated space. The conversation also pulls back the curtain on how she manages influencer partnerships for the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group—what works, what doesn’t, and how restaurants can build meaningful relationships with creators.

Whether you’re a restaurateur, content creator, or just curious about the business behind the posts, this episode offers an honest look at the intersection of hospitality, marketing, and modern influence.

In this episode, Jeff turns the mic on Jamie to talk about her new book, Eleven Tables. What begins as a conversation about writing quickly opens into something bigger—an honest look at what it really takes to bring an idea to life and turn it into something real.

They dig into the small, often invisible steps behind big projects, the role of resilience in building a business, and how Jamie carved out time to write in the middle of a full restaurant life. At the center of it all is belief—the willingness to trust an idea before it fully exists, and the discipline to see it through.

This is a conversation about starting, continuing, and finishing—held together by the power of taking even the tiniest steps forward.

This week on Jeff & Jamie Feed, we sit down with Colleen Hughes—James Beard–nominated mixologist and recent recipient of Michelin’s “Exceptional Cocktails” award for the Southeast.

Colleen gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how she builds standout cocktail programs, from her creative process to the systems that keep her nimble in a constantly evolving industry. We dive into the rise of spirit-free cocktails, the growing role of THC beverages, and what it really takes to stay ahead of the curve in today’s bar scene.

Whether you’re a bartender, server, restaurant owner, or just someone who loves a great drink, this conversation is packed with insight, perspective, and a glimpse into where the future of beverages is headed.

In this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, Jeff and Jamie talk about filming the final three episodes of Season 1 of Fork & Hammer in Atlanta, including what it was like working alongside Jamie’s brother and the behind-the-scenes rhythm of television production. The last two episodes of the television program bring the team back to Charlotte, where the focus shifts to the final stretch before opening Leluia Hall—finishing design details, continuing to tweak the menu, and hosting a full staff practice night to get ready for the real thing. Listen in for an inside look at the controlled chaos that comes right before a restaurant finally opens its doors, and the filming for Fork & Hammer season 1 comes to an end.

In this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, we sit down with Kristen Miranda of Blume Studios to talk about the powerful intersections of dining, theatre and immersive entertainment. As restaurants evolve beyond simply serving food, we discuss how dining out is increasingly becoming a form of theater — an experience that blends atmosphere, storytelling, performance, and connection. Kristen shares how Blume Studios weaves food and beverage into their immersive arts programming, intentionally curating environments that invite guests to step into something unexpected and unforgettable. With experiences like “The Magician’s Table”, Blume Studios is blending food, drink, and performance to create something far beyond a traditional night out. We explore how they thoughtfully curate each experience and how similar theatrical elements show up in our own restaurants. This conversation is about a current and rising moment in hospitality: where art, storytelling, and the table come together to create theatrical moments guests won’t forget.

On this episode of Jeff & Jamie Feed, we sit down with visionary Charlotte leader Tim Belk to talk about building a stronger local food system. Tim shares the story behind his family’s Wild Hope Farm located in Chester, SC—and why having farms near fast-growing cities like Charlotte is essential to the future of food. We dig into how restaurants and farms can work together more effectively, the realities of scaling sustainable agriculture, and his work with the Carolina Farm Fund to invest in the next generation of regional farms in a sustainable, thoughtful way. This is the unique farming infrastructure being planted now that will impact chefs and locals alike in generations to come in Charlotte. It’s a conversation about land, leadership, and what it really takes to feed a city well.

What’s it mean to close a business—and how do you know it’s the right call? In this episode, get the honest scoop about what it’s like to consider closing something you’ve poured yourself into. We share our story of closing Crepe Cellar to make space for something new, and why we’re now in the process of closing our doughnut shop, Reigning Doughnuts. Are there ways to see these moves not as failure but as figuring out another way? We walk through the questions we ask ourselves, the emotions that come up, and the practical realities behind the decision. If you’re an entrepreneur wondering whether to push through, pause, or pivot—gain leadership insights to make your next move.

Jeff and Jamie sit down with architect Don Peadon to talk about what really makes a restaurant work—long before the doors open. From the importance of a strong architect–restaurateur relationship to designing spaces that support both front and back of house, this conversation explores how thoughtful planning sets restaurants up for long-term success. Don, Jeff, and Jamie dig into the challenges they’ve worked through together, the lessons learned along the way, and several of the projects they’ve collaborated on over the years—and why the best restaurants are built on trust, communication, and shared problem-solving.