Feb 11, 2008 6:50 pm US/Central
State Restaurant Group Gets 1st Black Leader
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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John Meyer of BJ's Market and Bakery is the new head of the Illinois Restaurant Association, and the group's first African American leader.
CBS
The industry that employs more than half a million workers here in Illinois is marking a milestone.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports lessons of his mother's kitchen have taken Chatham resident John Meyer to the head of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
From sweet potatoes to corn bread to macaroni and cheese the food at Meyer's BJ's Market and Bakery sure has soul.
In just over a decade BJ's has become a South Side institution. Meyer got his start at Chicago's Washburn Culinary Academy, but his talents were first cooked up in his mother, Juanita's, Chatham kitchen.
"I got it from my mom, my mom loves to cook," Meyer said. "My sister is a doctor she tried to teach her to cook. She didn't want anything about it and she didn't want to teach me 'cause I was a guy."
Meyer is now taking over as the first African American chairman of the Illinois Restaurant Association, an $18 billion state industry that touches our lives each time we eat out at some 6,000 member establishment of all kinds.
The group also played a crucial role in the passage of Illinois' smoking ban.
"Half was in support half against, but as we talked further we sort of embraced the smoking ban," Meyer said.
The association is also anxious to have its voice heard when it comes to Chicago's ban on foie gras.
"We're still working on the foie gras and we're gonna get that repealed so things like that don't make sense to us," Meyer said.
It's the culinary agenda of a man still serving up some great potato salad and green beans.
We love to say Chicago is a restaurant lover's town, but it's also big business all over the state. Restaurants are the number one retail employer in Illinois, with the total number of restaurant workers expected to jump to 600,000 in the next decade.
John Meyer will now play a key role in setting their political agenda.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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