EAST POINT, Ga. — Any Tri-Cities resident can tell that the neighborhoods that comprise the ‘sister’ cities of East Point, Hapeville, and College Park tend to be fairly close-knit especially when it comes to social media.
If you want to find out something about your block, look no further than Facebook, Instagram, or NextDoor for your answer. The modern-day equivalent of a 'Newsie.'
Since the early days of the shutdown, residents began to notice an event ‘pop-up’ in their feeds around every other weekend, simply titled the ‘Saturday Night Pop-up Dinner’ hosted by Eight 27.
A pop-up restaurant, for those of you not savvy in restaurant lingo, is when a restaurant does not have a brick-and-mortar space and operates out of a temporary space or even out of the chef’s home. It wasn’t long before the praise spread throughout the Tri-Cities, largely via social media or word of mouth.
Allow me to introduce to you, Chef Jeremy Weatherly — the face behind the taste.
“Since COVID hit, I started doing the pop-up dinners. It was just something great for the College Park, East Point area.” Weatherly tells My East Point News.
“Give them some different eat. Just fresh food, but a little upscale. Make it fancy for them, but still, use traditional style food.”
The Thomasville native and East Point resident have been honing his cooking career since attending the culinary school at Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky. from 2005-2010. After returning to the metro Atlanta area where he cut his teeth working at prestigious local universities, including Oglethorpe, Emory and currently working as a chef for Georgia State University.
A mere six years after completing culinary school, Weatherly started his own cooking service, Eight 27 in 2016. He is adamant about never referring to his business simply as a ‘restaurant.’
Chef Jeremy prefers the term — Culinary Experience.
“It’s been a great response. I’m thankful for everyone in the East Point, College Park area. It’s a blessing,” praises Chef Weatherly.
The inspiration for his pandemic pop-up came from a rather unlikely source, his Facebook friends. Those very same friends insisted upon Weatherly that they were in crucial need of healthy, consistent, and most importantly affordable ready-to-meals that could be catered to their specific dietary needs.
Apparently, Chef Weatherly’s definition of a ‘culinary experience’ was just what the doctor ordered. After a few short months, the demand for his Saturday Night Pop-up dinners has grown exponentially. Now that his day job has come calling, Chef Weatherly has been compelled to seek additional help just to cover the pre-orders.
To learn more about Chef Weatherly and Eight 27, check out his website.
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