Community-Focused Pizza Company Eats & Rhymes Eyes West End Storefront

Ashley and Clem McKinley are in pursuit of the American Dream. Situated on Beatties Ford Road, ground zero of the gentrification shuffle, the McKinleys’ new pizza parlor concept Eats and Rhymes pushes towards revitalization rather than redevelopment, giving back to the community while looking to build a legacy for their two sons.

Explicitly following in the footsteps of entrepreneurs who have emerged along the West End corridor in recent years like Cheryse Terry at Archive CLT or Tracie and Jennifer Mackins of Mackins Bridal Boutique, the McKinleys look to fill a gap in fast-casual dining options while centering one of their first loves: music.

The idea for a hip-hop-inflected pizza shop was born of an issue that many in Charlotte have complained about; Clem couldn’t find pizza that he deeply enjoyed in the city.

While there were plenty of joints serving traditional pies, Clem struggled to find places that experimented with flavor.

“It really came from me being picky,” he explained. “I wanted something with a punch.”

For more than 15 years, his idea remained only that. This year, the two found themselves in a stable financial space that allowed them to look toward their future.

After seeing an inspirational post suggesting that generational wealth starts with someone taking a risk, Clem felt that now was the time to swing, especially for their sons, 8-year-old Cannon and 5-year-old Cohen.

“We grew up with not too many options,” Clem told Queen City Nerve. “I want to leave my kids not with just wealth, but with options on what they would want to do in life.”

Built on a shared love for hip-hop

While the food industry logistics were daunting to him as a corporate sales operations manager, coming up with the concept was not.

Clem and Ashley have always bonded over their love of music. If you would have bumped into Clem in the hallways of West Charlotte High School in the late 1990s, you would have heard a classic hip-hop lineup blaring from his headphones.

He was a fan of New York behemoths like Jay-Z, Nas, and Gang Starr, but the rise of No Limit Records out of New Orleans, especially the work of Silkk the Shocker, had his ear too.

Ashley’s love of all things trap music complemented Clem’s more classic hip-hop sensibilities.

“I’m a trapper. I just love to dance,” she explained. “Those beats are just undeniable.”

She professes her love for Atlanta rappers like T.I. and Jeezy, who she’s seen live more than 15 times.
It was natural for the couple to work their shared love for hip-hop into a concept.

“Instead of beats and rhymes, I was like, ‘What about eats and rhymes?’ Food and music, those two things just go together to me.”

Of course, opening a pizza shop takes more than a concept.

The couple have been eyeing a vacant retail space in the shopping center that hosts Archive and Mackins Bridal at the corner of Beatties Ford and LaSalle Street, but they’ve run into hurdles common among start-ups.

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The two have encountered myriad obstacles and surprise costs in their attempts to occupy one of the few turnkey spaces that are available and outfitted for food service in the Historic West End. The McKinleys remain undaunted.

“The most challenging thing right now was overcoming my fear,” Clem said.

The McKinleys launched a crowdfunding campaign in April, not just soliciting donations but holding pop-ups that have served as previews of their new business.

They’ve grown their team, bringing on DJ and podcaster Eric Sanders as creative director and Winston-Salem State alum Mike Parrott as business manager to help lead them through this critical campaign, which they are calling “#BetOnTheFord.”

With a six-figure gap to bridge, the McKinleys are confident that their commitment to purpose will drive them to success.

“Betting on the Ford is just not just saying I’m serving pizza, Betting on the Ford is like, ‘How are you contributing back to this community?’” said Clem.

The couple is already putting effort and capital toward their ultimate purpose. With their brick-and-mortar yet to be realized, they’ve already launched a nonprofit wing of the business called the Hot 16 Foundation, a lyrical double entendre gesturing toward the 16-inch pie and 16-bar rap verse.

Inspired by the Mayor’s Youth Employment Program, the nonprofit will help support job placement for high school and college students on the west side, with a $1,000 scholarship promoting entrepreneurship among West Charlotte High School students.

They’ll also provide pizza to afterschool programs in the corridor and charities in need of food for fundraisers.
Ashley, who has served as an educator in various west-side schools over the last 20 years, sees the Hot 16 Foundation as indicative of the couple’s larger mission: “We are revitalizing the community and we support the kids, which is what I love.”

Building out the vision for Eats & Rhymes

Once they are able to get into a space, they plan to keep things local. They’re already utilizing sourdough crust with dough provided by Bread on Bikes CLT and plan to work with Beatties Ford institutions like Deep Roots CPS Farm and West End Seafood when they begin ordering in bulk.

The space itself will reflect that community-centered feeling, with a built-in DJ booth, listening stations with headphones and regular sets from local DJs.

Clem calls his vision “clean urban,” embellished by natural tones like tan and olive with a warm feel without dim lighting.

“We want it to feel like where you walk into when you sign your [record] deal,” Ashley explained.

The menu will be broken down into a playlist, with pies named after musicians, lyrics and icons from hip-hop history and flavors inspired by cuisines across the diaspora. One recent pop-up saw them serving up slices of their 5 Mics pie, a meat-lover’s array that pays homage to the infamous Source Magazine album rating system.

As customers order in the new space, they will see their pizza made in front of them in the style of MOD or Blaze Pizza before it is fed through a conveyor belt oven. The McKinleys wanted an ease to the actual production process, especially since they plan on hiring mostly local students to work in the shop.

While the Eats & Rhymes pop-ups have been primarily invite-only thus far, the duo plans on opening them up to the public starting in July, with an order-ahead service that will go directly to #BetOnTheFord.

The team also offers “adult pizza parties,” private bookings that bring the pizza party directly to the customer along with a DJ set and beer and wine service.

The McKinleys still have a ways to go to realize their vision fully, but their vision itself is powerful — that the West End is a site not of renewal or investment, but one of generational wealth transfer for those who have been building long before the city caught up.

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While million-dollar homes continue to creep up Beatties Ford, pockmarking the landscape around JCSU and surrounding institutions, the McKinleys see a communal future for the Historic West End — for themselves, their sons, and their neighbors.

In the hands of folks like the McKinleys, Beatties Ford will continue its long legacy of fostering entrepreneurship, mutual aid and communal belonging for one of the city’s oldest and strongest Black communities, one pizza at a time.

Follow @eats_and_rhymes_clt on Instagram for updates.