Husband-and-wife duo Greg and Subrina Collier prevailed after losing their first business in a fire.
The couple’s journey began in Memphis, TN, when they met at a wing restaurant, according to CBS Mornings. They then moved to Phoenix, AZ, as Greg was looking for a fresh start. He also believed investing in his culinary skills was the best way, and Subrina joined him in his pursuit.
“I said if I go to Atlanta, I’m just going to be a more country me, or if I go to Chicago, it’s going to be cold me. If I go to New Orleans, it’s going to be a swamp me. So, I knew that in order for me to figure out who I was, I needed to go a place where I didn’t think I existed,” he told the outlet.
The pair then spent five years in Arizona and married in 2010. By then, Greg was looking to move back to the Southern U.S. with his eyes on Charlotte, NC. They were unable to afford the cost of rent in the area, which brought them to Rock Hill, SC.
“It was a little rundown shopping center and they were like, ‘Here $1,200 a month.’ There was still food on the grill that had been there for nine months,” recalled Subrina.
In 2012, they opened Yolk. However, within two years of its launch, a fire destroyed the
business.That did not deter them from their desire to run their own
restaurants. They eventually opened Uptown Yolk Cafe in Charlotte, NC in 2021 with a menu that includes brunch options such as shrimp and grits, French toast with dulce de leche and maple whipped cream, a sweet potato waffle, and
fried chicken sandwiches among others.
“There’s fire dish, which is our smoked chicken gravy biscuits and jalapeno jam was one of the first things we created on a new menu very specifically because we had a fire,” mentioned Greg.
According to WCOC-TV, Uptown Yolk Cafe did face another stumbling block in the aftermath of COVID-19, causing it to reach a standstill and relocate to Charlotte’s South End.
What’s more, the
couple have been successful in the restaurant space, owning three restaurants and a food festival in the city through their restaurant group BayHaven Restaurant Group. Beyond their personal achievements, their biggest
accomplishment is being able to pay it forward to other businesses.
“There’s probably 12 to 15 business owners or leaders of business who’ve come through our restaurant group in some kind of way,” notes Greg.
Subrina commented: “We have laid and planted so many seeds that nobody can take that from us. That’s more important than any award you can ge.”
