Behind the scenes at many of Memphis’ independent restaurants is a couple at the heart of the business.
A couple that has a passion for providing quality food and service to its guests. A couple that divides and conquers the duties of operating a business in the hospitality industry. A couple that pours their hearts into their dining concept.
Here are the couples behind three of Memphis’ most popular eateries. Each shares how love is a key ingredient for their recipe to success.
Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies: Pamela and Maurice Hill
Pamela and Maurice Hill’s love story is as sweet as their beloved Makeda’s butter cookies.
The two met in 1994 while working together at the laboratory at The MED. “I was a medical lab tech, and he was a phlebotomist. He would collect the specimens and bring them to the lab, and I would run the test,” Pamela recalled. “After dating for about a year, he asked me to marry him, and I said yes! That was in 1996, and we are still happily married most of the time.”
Maurice said the idea for Makeda’s happened when he and his brother were reminiscing about the cookies that were sold in their school cafeteria. “I convinced my brother and brother in-law to go into business with me. Neither of us had any experience and very little money,” Maurice said. “After a couple of years, they quit on me and that’s when I convinced Pamela to quit her job to help me run the business. It wasn’t easy but she must have been in love with me because she quit, and the struggle began.”