In Black America

On this episode of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. remembers the late William F. “Bill” Williams, the pioneering philanthropic co-founder of Glory Foods, Inc. in 1989, developing the concept of producing and distributing food products targeting African American consumers and promoting the growth of ethnic food distribution. Williams died December 27, 2001.

The full transcript of this episode of In Black America is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:15] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:00:22] We noticed that the African-American was not represented in the grocery stores as you will see the Asians and the Spanish-speaking people, Latinos and various other ethnic groups are represented in the grocery chains but you will not see anything that is African- American represented by African-Americans whether it’s a We don’t sell any of the pork products to the grocery stores. We don’t produce, very few companies produce those products. And we thought that we would like to become a company that would know the African-American community better than any other company and specialize in it and be able to do a job that would appeal to the professional African- American female who doesn’t have time to reduce. The traditional dishes that she had grown up with.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:01:19] The late William F. Bill Williams co-founder of Glory Foods, Incorporated. In 1989, with three of his colleagues, he developed the concept of Glory Food. Research revealed there was a void in the marketplace for food products targeting African-American consumers. In 1992, Glory Food began distributing its 17 Southern-style food products in supermarkets throughout central Ohio. Today, Glory Foods. The strip is a full line of seasoned canned vegetables, frozen entrees, and side dishes to over 140 supermarket chains throughout the country. Before his death in 2001, William worked tirelessly on his personal mission to attract young African Americans to the culinary arts and the hospitality industry. Glory Foods had to stab his scholarships in disregarding his namesake and continued to support other programs for minority students. At Disney, Glory Foods donates thousands of his products to food banks in need each year. In 2010, Glory donated products to support relief efforts following hurricane damage in Haiti. Williams died on December 27, 2001. He was 57 years old. I’m Johnny L. Hanson Jr. And welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week’s program, remembering William F. Bill Williams, co-founder of Glory Foods, Incorporated. In Black America.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:02:44] We originally started with the 17 items. It was our idea at that time to do everything that was necessary to complete a meal for the modern professional African-American female, thinking that if she wanted to have a traditional meal for her family, she could go to the store, buy the cornbread, buy our hot sauce, buy her greens. Buy our black eyed peas, go to the fish counter and get herself a piece of catfish, fry the catfish and simply heat up the products, the glory food products and have a complete meal. That was our thinking and in a relatively short period of time could offer her family a traditional wholesome meal.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:03:33] The increasing popularity of ethnic foods have helped spur Glory Foods’ growth. Ethnic foods are a $75 billion a year market in this country. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, more than a third of its sales are made at supermarkets, which is where Glory Foods sells its product. William attended the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated with honors. He went on to attain his bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management. From the University of Massachusetts. He then spent more than 20 years as a food and beverage manager for hotel and restaurant chains. William was one of Columbus, Ohio’s most respected businessmen and restaurateurs. In addition to ownership of Glory Foods, he also owned and managed a specialty food distribution company and the Marble Gang Restaurant. A strong advocate of minority representation in the food and beverages industry, William served on numerous boards supporting this effort. He was co-chairman of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences, where he helped raise $7 million in endowments for African-American students pursuing degrees in agribusiness. In 1996, Glory Food was named Black Enterprise Magazine’s Emerging Company of the Year. In December 2009, Glory food was sold to McCall Farms, Incorporated. According to the current president, Jacqueline Neal, Glory Food has become a subsidiary of McCall and will remain a separate minority controlled and managed company. In 1996, In Black America spoke with the late William F. Bill Williams.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:05:13] I’m from Columbus, Ohio. It’s my home. I attended school, the Culinary Institute of America in New Haven, Connecticut, and got a culinary background, and I began working in hotels and restaurants. About 11 years ago, I started my own restaurant here in Columbus, Ohio called The Marble Gang, which is a neighborhood restaurant that appeals to upscale African-American consumers. Here in Commerce, Ohio.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:05:45] Okay, how did you happen to spark an interest in food service?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:05:50] I actually did not spark an interest in food service. It was pretty much directed to me from high school and because of my part-time jobs and things, and from those part-times jobs then I just carried it on as a vocation.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:06:09] What are some of the joys in being in the restaurant business?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:06:12] For me, it has been a good income producing business. I’ve met a lot of people throughout the country and have a lot of friends in the industry which allows me to live a good lifestyle in traveling on vacations and or traveling with hotels.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:06:31] You spent 20 years in the food and beverage management for hotels and restaurant chains. What are some of the things that you’ve learned from working in other restaurants and hotels?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:06:43] The big advantage in working in restaurant hotels is that you’re completely involved in everything from the producing of the food itself, which makes it, you know, you learn how to schedule and produce things. You have to become a marketer. You have learn how to sell that product on a menu, how to go and observe other competitors, which allows you to be first or try to be in the areas that you want to work in. Also teaches you markups and how to keep your price competitive with other very competitive restaurants and hotels.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:07:25] The Marble Gang has somewhat lasted through financial challenges over the years in Columbus. Can you put your finger on why you were somewhat successful and has been successful in the same location?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:07:41] It’s been there 11 years. At the time we developed the Marvel gang, we did not put a lot of investment into it. We were able to take an existing facility that had some advantages. And we created a look that was timely for the restaurant. And so therefore, we didn’t have to carry a lot at debt. I went about hiring people that had already had some training in food service, and that prevented me from having to spend a lot of extra money in training, et cetera, in getting the restaurant open in a timely manner.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:08:22] When one attends college and majoring in hotel and restaurant management, is it more than just preparing food that’s a part of the curriculum?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:08:32] Oh yes, there’s all sorts of things that are involved. There’s restaurant hotel law, which you must have some understanding of. There’s microbiology, there is bacteriology, there are courses in dairy science. You have your county major, your county that you have to complete. You have your business courses that you have to complete, so it’s a well-rounded education that can prepare you for business in general. One of the things that is done, as a matter of fact, because of my understanding of how food was produced, it allowed me to experiment and develop the concept of glory foods, as matter of a fact.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:09:21] How did you happen to come up with the idea for Glory Foods?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:09:26] We had been selling foods here in Ohio, and we established a large lines of credit with those major manufacturers in the country. We noticed that the African-American was not represented in the grocery stores. As you will see, the Asians and the Spanish-speaking people, Latinos, and and various other ethnic groups are represented in the grocery chains, but you will not see anything that is African-American represented by African-Americans, whether it’s a, we don’t sell any of the pork products to the grocery stores, we very few companies produce those products. And we thought that we would like to become a company that would know the African- American community better than. Any other company and specialize in it and be able to do a job that will… Would appeal to the professional African American female who doesn’t have time to produce the traditional dishes that she had grown up with and we thought that that would create a very good food product for the home.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:10:52] Besides knowing that you had a good idea and an excellent product, were there any research mechanisms in which you all had to perform to somewhat convince lending institutions that this was a viable idea?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:11:09] Yes, we did approach a marketing company in New York Lockhart& Pettis that did some research for us to determine that there was a viable market there. We were able to take that information then and convince the processors that there is a viable mark. That we were able to take that information then and convince our bankers and our grocery. Change that there was a viable market from that research, as a matter of fact.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:11:44] Did you start out with the 17 items that you currently have or there was a limited number of items in which you began with?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:11:50] We originally started with the 17 items. It was our idea at that time to do everything that was necessary to complete a meal for the modern professional African American female thinking that if she wanted to have a traditional meal for her family, she could go to the store, buy the cornbread, buy our hot sauce, buy out greens. Buy our black eyed peas, go to the fish counter and get herself a piece of catfish, fry the catfish and simply heat up the products, the glory food products and have a complete meal. That was our thinking and a relatively short period of time could offer her family a traditional Wholesome meal.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:12:41] Without giving away any of the trade secrets, was it difficult in making the small amounts that is required to go into a can that’s going to actually have a significant shelf life.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:12:57] It was extremely difficult because it’s a completely different process. The process that we use with Glory Foods is a new and different process

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:13:09] Is it a patented process? Or is just a guarded company secret?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:13:15] It’s an approved process.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:13:21] Okay. And the approval organization, FDA, or?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:13:29] It’s the food canners.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:13:32] Okay.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:13:32] Processors Association.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:13:35] Who are some of the other individuals that make up Glory Foods?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:13:38] Uh… Iris mccord she and i work together at lazarus she has a marketing degree from uh… Uh… Indiana university and uh… She and I work together lazarus developing new concepts in restaurants there uh… Lazarus is a large department store here in comers ohio uh… There is a fellow by the name of dan charna who for me at Lazarus in one of my restaurants. And there’s another partner by the name of Gar Kenley, who he and I became partners in real estate here in Clemson, Ohio, as a matter of fact.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:14:20] This is In Black America. We’ll be back with more of our conversation in a moment. And now back to this episode of In Black American.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:14:29] Was it a tremendous financial outlay to actually launch Glory Foods to the point it is today?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:14:38] Initially, it was not. In the past year, we’ve had to really start to invest large dollars into the concept because of the growth phase that we’re in now, expanding faster than we are producing dollars, as a matter of fact. But initially it was a really… Time and effort spent in the research and development of the concept which was done in our spare time and our extra time. So we put the real cost in the front end and kept those cost at a minimum, and we have begun now to. Put large dollars into it to advertise the product, to let it be known to the consumer that there is an alternative to corn and to other vegetables and microwavable products that the professional African American woman can have an alternative for her family.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:15:55] Once you convinced the financial institutions that this was a great idea, was it difficult in convincing the supermarket chains around the country that this is a viable product in which they should stock in their stores?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:16:10] Actually, we’ve had a lot of very good, warm welcomes by the grocery chains. We started with, here in Columbus, a Terry Smith who we had been working with for about ten years. Terry gave us the… For Glory Foods in very short order and the test was extremely successful and things went extremely well during that period so the other stores now looking at the large sales that we were creating and the customer base that we’re creating for them, they’ve been very pleased and they’ve be welcoming us as we travel and expand our distribution.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:16:59] What are some of the names of the stores and other major states or cities in which one could find Glory Foods?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:17:06] Today, we’re from Washington, D.C., all the way around through the southeast to Memphis. And you’ll find Giant and Safeway in the Washington Baltimore markets and Northern Virginia. You’ll find Foodline in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. And you’ll find it in… The Atlanta and Georgia, you’ll find it in the Winn-Dixie chain, you will find it in the Kroger chain, the SuperValue and in fact in all major chains there in the Georgia area. And in Alabama we’re in Calhoun, it’s an African-American owned company there that has been doing just a tremendous job there. Montgomery, Salem, and Tuskegee. And we’ve been working very closely with them and enjoying our relationship. Memphis, we’re with Kroger Chain, and then we go then back up through Nashville, Louisville, and Cincinnati, and Columbus. Those are the marks that we’re in presently.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:18:28] Why do you believe your particular entrepreneurial business is a great business for African Americans to become involved in?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:18:37] Uh… I i think it’s because it hasn’t been as well as uh… It could be uh… I think the majority companies uh… Simply do not no or understand that there are differences in the uh… Populations and uh… They you know they tried to create products that are homogeneous to everyone and uh… We think that uh… Well, it has always been known to African-Americans that like hair care products. And if we can think and have the ability to really look at things, we can see that there’s other products that are completely different. I think you’re starting to see stockings are being. Are different today for African Americans than they were in the past and there was a time when we would simply wear whatever stockings that were being produced even though they didn’t fit us properly or want it on. So that creates an opportunity for someone to develop that line and become the expert in that area. I think that there’s other types of products, I can’t think of those items today, but there’s others things like that that will allow you to have your niche market and you can develop it and not have to compete. With them on their terms, but simply work in the area that you can be good in. In fact, my restaurant is a classic example of that. We’re located in the heart of the African American community, and we have a very good reputation of white and black customers of all income levels that I don’t have a lot of competition with. And that’s allowed me to. Be there and strong financially for the past 11 years now, whereas a lot of people have come and gone with all sorts of great ideas here in the Columbus market.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:20:56] Why don’t you feel it was important for Glory Food to form a partnership with South Carolina African American farmers?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:21:03] Uh… Didn’t know that you knew that uh… We uh… We have not only uh… From the beginning of the concept the very beginning irish mccord and i agree that whatever we would do we would try to do it with uh… As many african-americans uh… Do business with his many africa as possible So if we go into a city in Charlotte, we try to stay there at McDonald’s, that’s a hotel and restaurant there in Charlotte. If we go onto Atlanta, we tried to stay at the Barclay, that is a hotel that is owned by African Americans and our marketing people are African Americans. Our public relations firm is out of Atlanta, they are African American. We We then thought that if we’re going to be buying these black IPs, we need to get African-American farmers growing these black IPs for us, and so we’ve encouraged them to. Grow black eyed peas which gives them a better margin than if they’re growing soybeans or corn. So it’s a starting place and we’re trying to encourage them to produce the products that we are producing now and we just think that it completes our objectives of trying to grow and develop ourselves.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:22:36] Does Glory Food have a commitment to the community?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:22:40] It has, yes. And it continues. I mean, that goes all the way back, you know, from our very beginning, if our offices are located within the community, our investments are located within our community. We contribute large dollars to various African American type of projects and things throughout the country now. As a result of the growth and development of Glory Foods. It’s been win-win for all of us at this point.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:23:20] Bill, could you give us a definition of Southern cooking?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:23:25] Uh, definition?

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:23:29] Or somewhat explain it, can you explain it? It is just a feeling that one has when he or she is in the kitchen.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:23:37] John, my definition always has been that African Americans had to take food products that were marginal food items and they had to make them taste good, so if you will, chicken and dumplings was one of those items and so they took a chicken that was a tough old bird and made it. Very tasty. They had to take the collard greens that were tough and make them tasty. And so it’s a, you know, you had to those food items that you had and make them special. And I think that that is why there was always more love and more care given to the… Soul food, and I don’t know this, but I believe that that’s why it was called soul food. You had to put yourself into that food to make it special. Otherwise, sweet potatoes that you don’t really put a lot of love into are just not quite as good as those that your mother put a And the same, you know, you can just throw cornbread together and it’s not very special. But if you put a little love into it, it becomes very special and it makes for a complete dinner. You can take a pot of beans and you can have a wholesome meal, whether you’re poor or rich. And when we eat now, my family, we have our pinto beans often now with our cornbread. And we say, you know, that’s a complete meal for us today. And we feel pretty good about that because, you know, it’s almost holy if you enjoy these simple things in life.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:25:46] Are you all health conscious at Glory Foods, considering the levels of fat, sodium, etc. That are currently in cancer?

 William F. Bill Williams [00:25:54] In fact that was a, from the beginning it was a concern from the very beginning that we would not be able to produce this product in a modern period of time because if you produce good tasting soul food invariably you’re going to have to use large amounts of fat and large amounts 7. Sodium. So what we did was we developed really spices and a recipe that we think is a lot less fat content and or sodium than what you would produce in your own home. So although we have not produced this product to say that it is a health food and we’re not selling as a health food, but we’re seeing that it is a better. Prepared food item you then if you prepared it yourself at home

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:27:02] Bill I wish you

 William F. Bill Williams [00:27:04] I’m sorry. I’m-I’m sorry, John.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:27:07] I want you to complete your statement.

 William F. Bill Williams [00:27:10] So although we’re not selling health food, we are selling food that will allow you to be very comfortable in knowing that you’re feeding your family, which is our company motto, just about the best. It’s not the same as what you can produce in your own home, but it’s just about to best, and that’s our company logo.

John L. Hanson Jr, [00:27:33] The late William F. Bill Williams, co-founder of Glory Foods. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions as to future In Black America programs, email us at inblackamerica.kut.org. Also let us know what radio station you heard is over. Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Facebook and X. You can hear previous programs online at kut.or.g. Also, you can listen to a special collection of In Black America programs at American Archive of Public Broadcasting. That’s americanarchives.org. The views and opinions expressed on this program are not necessarily those of this station or of the University of Texas at Austin. In Black American is a listener supported production of KUT and KUTX in Austin, Texas. You can support our work by donating at supportthispodcast.org until we have the opportunity again for technical producer, David Alvarez. I’m Johnny L. Hanson, Jr. Thank you for joining us today. Please join us again next week.

KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:28:40] CD copies of this program are available and may be purchased by writing In Black America CDs, KUT Radio, 300 West Dean Keaton Boulevard, Austin, Texas, 78712. That’s In Black American CDs, KUT radio, 300 West, Dean Keeton Boulevard. Austin, texas, 7 8712. This has been a production of KUTradio.

This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.