Rising Stars: Meet Aretha and Mozell Martin of Gallatin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aretha and Mozell Martin.

Hi Aretha and Mozell, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
A bite about us In 2019, we opened our food truck to provide fresh cooks to order food. Aretha’s original recipes and Mozell (MO) customer service combined to make Martin’s Chicken and Waffles what it is today. We can’t forget about our outstanding manager who makes things happen and the kiddos Jerel, Amaria, Chon, and Montez for working hard. We are a true family and veteran-owned business. Since our opening, we’ve expanded our menu, turned visitors into loyal customers, and given to the community via food drives, backpack giveaways, and our Bless the Youth Christmas Gifting. It has been a journey from a food truck, to Rivergate mall, to our current location in Gallatin, Tennessee. We are excited about what the future holds for us and meeting new people.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Whew! It has not been easy. We are very family oriented so missing our kid’s activities is the most challenging. When we started we had no financial assistance solely from our savings. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, it hit us big time. We had to shut down for 2.5 months because of where we located Rivergate Mall. We are still recovering financially, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Staffing issues has been another major issue for us. Trying to run a business is hard when you have to run the business and maintain the day-to-day. Things are slowly getting back to normal.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a small mom-and-pop restaurant. We are known for Chicken and waffles. We take full-size Belgian Waffle with 3 jumbo tenders where you can get them what we call country fried or Nashville Hot. We are proud and thankful that we can give people a job. We are known for our Chicken and waffles of course, banana pudding, and just the down-home family feel you get when you come into the restaurant,

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Mozell is a people person. He loves sitting down with the customers and discovering their occupations and other things they may be into. Aretha, not so much. Although she speaks and talks with customers, she likes to stay in the background and watch customers and see their reactions to  her creations.

Contact Info:

• Website: martinschickenandwaffles.com
• Instagram: Martins_chicken_and_waffles
• Facebook: Martin’s Chicken and Waffles