Final week, longtime buddies and leisure icons Anthony Anderson and Cedric The Entertainer launched the grand opening of AC Barbeque, their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, at Westfield Century Metropolis, the place a welcoming crowd gathered to help the launch of this new enterprise.
Cedric The Entertainer stood close to the doorway of AC Barbeque, his phrases carrying the burden of expertise and delight.
“You need to have the ability to put one thing on the market,” he mentioned.
“We’re doing tv, creating characters folks love and keep in mind that make people giggle, they usually develop up with them. I’ve had that. So many individuals come as much as me like, ‘Man, I grew up on that.’”
Now, with the launch of AC Barbeque at Westfield Century Metropolis, Cedric sees a brand new chapter unfolding, one simply as significant, simply as lasting.
“Opening this restaurant presents us the identical skill,” he continued. “We’re in the neighborhood. We’ve got one thing actual. We’ve got the chance to construct this the place it’s franchisable, the place it will possibly develop.”
It is a restaurant, and a legacy. “Two buddies, two Black males acquired along with an thought and a dream and constructed one thing that was greater than what folks anticipated,” he mentioned.
“We’re in grocery shops, we’re dwell. We acquired eating places, we acquired TV reveals about it; it’s like an entire factor. Meals vehicles on faculty campuses, instructional applications. We’re not leaving something on the desk. That is what it’s all about,” Cedric mentioned, referring to the BBQ model’s fast-growing reputation.
Anthony Anderson didn’t hesitate when requested about probably the most significant a part of the journey.
“I’m not going to lie,” he mentioned, holding nothing again. “Strengthening my friendship with Cedric has been the spotlight of this.”
Their bond spans greater than 25 years however constructing AC Barbeque introduced them even nearer. Their decades-long friendship became one thing tangible and lasting by way of this venture.
“On prime of opening up this restaurant, on prime of making a tradition within the barbecue neighborhood and making it household, it’s a mirrored image of our friendship. It’s a mirrored image of the place we come from and what we do,” Anderson mentioned, wanting again and capturing the guts of their shared expertise.
The menu is daring, flavorful, and crafted for meals lovers who admire soul meals with a twist. Attendees didn’t maintain again on their reward. One visitor, Christine, couldn’t get sufficient of the brisket or the mustard-infused coleslaw.
“They’ve a bit of twist on issues, which is sweet,” she mentioned. “It wasn’t your typical barbecue.” Others, like Flo and Brandon, had been drawn in by the range and generosity of the service.
“We didn’t know what to anticipate,” mentioned Brandon, who attended the Unique Sneak Preview with accomplice Flo. He defined that the second they walked in, they had been greeted with beneficiant plates of meals, together with Cajun-seasoned hen sliders that rapidly received them over. The couple described the meal as “actually good barbecue” and agreed AC Barbeque is the sort of spot they’d positively return to.
Rose, a longtime household buddy of Cedric, summed it up finest, “The meals is nice. The mac and cheese is nice. The beans are spicy. The hen is nice. And I’m simply loving being right here to symbolize.”
Set on stage 2 of the Westfield Century Metropolis Eating Terrace, the restaurant presents indoor and out of doors seating, a rotating menu of grillmaster recipes, and plans for shock visitor cooks. Open every day, AC Barbeque is designed to convey folks collectively over smoky goodness and shared tales.
“Opening AC Barbeque at Century Metropolis is like inviting all people to hitch the cookout,” Cedric concludes.
