The Mecca of Soul Food with Patrice and Jerry Thompson

Driven By with Sam Coates

My guests today are Patrice and Jerry Thompson. Patrice and her family own and operate the legendary Four Way Restaurant out of Memphis, TN. The Four Way attracts visitors from all over the world. In addition to being known for its famous soul food, the Four Way is also a place with rich history and significance. In this interview, you’ll hear how Martin Luther King spent a lot of time at the Four Way during the civil rights movement. Additionally, this restaurant has seen guests such as Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, The Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many more.

This interview is a great episode where you’ll learn:

• The Four Way is much more than only a restaurant. 75 years later, you can see the pride, the vision, and the sacrifice generations prior have made to get the Four Way to where it is today.
• Why the Four Way was a place of love and community during segregation and how it remains that way today
• The challenges of running a restaurant during a labor shortage and the Covid-19 pandemic. How they’ve learned to pivot and adapt to make it through
• Their vision for the future and how they want to see their once-booming area return to what it once was
• And much more!

Please enjoy this week’s episode with Patrice and Jerry Thompson!

Links: https://thefourway901.com/ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/ https://www.graceland.com/about-elvis https://www.arethafranklin.net/ https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/ike-and-tina-turner https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesse-Jackson