Reality show ‘Smokey Business’ to air on Pittsburgh’s CW, Dec. 15

A customer comes into Q&M’s Fish, Chik and Ribs in Plum on a regular basis to get her chicken wings, and she notices the hustle and bustle, the craziness (in a good way) that happens inside a family-owned, Black business.

There’s nieces cooking, taking orders on the phone, dealing with the in-person customers…

There’s Uncle James and Aunt Linda trying to make sure the bills are paid on time and keeping the ribs, chicken and smoked brisket as tender and juicy as can be…

There’s the family disagreements, the arguments, the happiness, the joy…

Finally, the unnamed customer says to Aunt Linda, “y’all should be a reality show.”

Well, this Sunday, Dec. 15 at noon on Pittsburgh’s CW, the idea will become, reality.

“Smokey Business” is the name of the show that takes viewers behind the scenes into the lives of the family members of Q&M’s Fish, Chik and Ribs.

Uncle James and Aunt Linda are the co-owners of the restaurant, located at 100 Boyce Park Dr. The nieces in the show are Tamika, Tiera and Ashia. Ashia, by the way, told the New Pittsburgh Courier that she’s “a spoiled rotten brat. It’s my way or the highway, literally.”

And then there’s T.J., the nephew, who has only been in Pittsburgh a year, coming here from California.

The pilot episode was produced by Terri Michele Entertainment. Pittsburgh’s CW enjoyed the pilot episode and agreed to air it on Dec. 15. Michele told the Courier it’s a possibility an additional episode could air the following week. Two episodes have been filmed so far by Michele’s company.

“It’s great because a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to get out there and show the insides of a business and show the insides of a family working together,” Uncle James told the Courier.

He said the success of Q&M’s has been the mastering of the food and the quality of the service. “We just try to keep that home feeling,” Uncle James said. “When you walk in there, you feel like you’re coming into grandma’s house. That’s the whole key to it. When you treat people with respect and give them a good product, they’re going to keep coming back, coming back, coming back, and that’s what I’m all about.”

Q&M’s has been open in Plum for seven years—prior to their location in Plum, there was a location in Penn Hills for nearly three years. Uncle James said Q&M’s recently opened a location in Duquesne.

Aunt Linda said a family restaurant business is “tough. It’s very hard. Financial challenges, just the personality challenges.”

Niece Ashia agreed. “Working with family can be just as happy as it is stressful.”

To celebrate the reality show, the family held a premiere party at the Double Tree Hotel in Monroeville on Nov. 30. About 125 patrons watched a trailer of the show, while enjoying complimentary food and other refreshments.

From the trailer, it was evident that Niece Ashia’s personality is outgoing—some might say boisterous—which makes for good reality TV.

“My personality literally is, like, the same in reality,” Niece Ashia told the Courier. “They think they’re the boss. But I’m the boss.”

DECEMBER 15 IS THE BIG DAY—Reality Show “Smokey Business” will air on Pittsburgh’s CW at noon, featuring the members of the family-owned restaurant, Q&M’s Fish, Chik and Ribs in Plum. Pictured are Aunt Linda, Niece Ashia, Nephew T.J., Niece Tiera, Niece Tamika, and Uncle James. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello) (Feature Photo)

by Rob Taylor Jr., Courier Staff Writer

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