We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jamaine Glover a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jamaine, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
While I almost bit at the question about the haters lol this is more my speed resilience and I will say this without haters life would be boring deadass, just think about that for a second! I grew up watching and learning from strong black women. I was born in 1979 and the world was way different. The black women was the hero in most households, “single mother wave” Shit you had it good if you had a father around and with Harlem being on fire with the rise of drug sales young black men were trying to get to “the bag” the fast way. While the single black mother was laying the seed and protecting home base have I already said hero?! f**k it, super women!… Today as a chef I have the same drive as those strong black single women in my family in my everyday movement. Keep going no matter the circumstance. The will to win and succeed, never looking back and not waiting for the next person to make it. Get up everyday no matter the situation make a better way no matter the outcome, give it 1000% because 100% is not enough, so yeah that’s were I get it from lol.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m Chef Jamaine Glover from Spanish Harlem NYC, greatest city on the planet lol there’s no place like home. These days I live in the Peach State Ga and I love it ” Thank You Georgia”… Harlem Chop LLC was born in GA and will remain in GA after I’m dead and gone. I’m building a brand that will start in a mobile unit then move to a storefront and the rest will be history once the 1st restaurant opens! My future plans and franchise Harlem Chop LLC in the future and open up a food truck park. I know the hell I’m going through trying to be an entrepreneur lol yet I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m from the old school what doesn’t kill you only make you stronger. The food truck park would have a commissary kitchen for food trucks to rent. Bringing the Chop Cheese Sandwich to Ga is an honor deadass because I get to share my childhood with the people of Ga, give them a little NYC right in their own backyards lol they can say thing’s like ” I’ve never been to NYC but I did have a Chop Cheese from a guy from NYC and it was good as Hell lol”… To reach these goals I grind, I work half the week and traveling/selling food in my food trailer the other half and Sunday is for family, church, rest. Always grinding and never waiting for it to fall in my lap, making it happen being a go getter that’s the advantage I have and it helps I can cook a lil something lol.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Don’t be afraid to fail or hear the word “No” build a tough mental and physical mindset. I went to culinary school to sharpen my skills because I already knew how to cook. The first time was a dud and I could’ve packed it up then and said ” Fuck It” but instead decided to give it a second chance and I was more focused and mature that time around. Still finding out who Jamaine Glover was as a person and at times over drinking to fix problems in my own life and nowadays I’m entrepreneur focused calmed down on my old behaviors and face my problems them head on. Surround yourself with good people in you life and only hangout with others that want to win! Crabs in a barrel will always remain just that, crabs in a barrel, one trying to get out and the next pulling them down. If you never seen it just go to your local fish market and look at the live crabs in the barrel lol. Remember where you came from, whether you grew up in the hood, nicest part of town, ghetto or below the poverty line, don’t let your past and childhood interfere/control your future. Let that be your “fuel of fire” and press forward and stop wasting time.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
The number one obstacle currently is finding a commissary kitchen in the greater Atlanta and surrounding area deadass.. The waiting list is at least a year to two years long depending on the location and it’s absolutely bat shit crazy. The solution is to build my own commissary kitchen for myself and other food trucks to rent and use. That would truly help in the food truck game for the south parts of Atlanta and this is a goal I plan to achieve in 5 years and as the pastor says ” Speak It Into Existence, Amen”. The world is changing and fast food is on it’s way out just like humans are slowly being phased out. I saw a video with robots in the kitchen doing pretty much the same thing a chef can do deadass. Your seeing things like this everyday and people aren’t paying attention, less humans working at you favorite stores and more self checkouts. Let’s continue to build more jobs and companies for humans to be apart of and I look forward to building the commissary kitchen to help out the food truck world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.HarlemChop.com
- Instagram: @HarlemChopLLC
- Facebook: @HarlemChopLLC
- Other: TicTok @HarlemChop
