Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace

Timothy “Preacha Tim” Davis mimicked his song title, “Shoot Ya Shot,” when he opened Hood Hibachi, his Japanese cuisine takeout business.

It’s one of more than 300 songs written by Davis, a chef as well as an R&B/soul singer, songwriter, and producer known as Preacha Tim.

“Shoot Ya Shot,” which was recorded by Tamara Felix, is about a woman telling a guy she’s “not going to make the first move,” Davis says. “She’s basically letting him know if he’s interested he needs to go and ‘shoot ya shot.’”

Davis shot his shot on February 24, 2022, when he got his business license for Hood Hibachi, which operates out of Memphis Kitchen Co-Op Marketplace. “We’re on DoorDash and Grubhub. You can call us and order, as well. We do teriyaki chicken, steak, shrimp. Each of the meals come with hibachi fried rice and vegetables, which are typically zucchini, mushrooms, and onions. Our cooking style is similar to Osaka, Benihana, Nagasaki [Inn]. I cook on a flat-top hibachi grill.”

Growing up in Cherokee Heights in Orange Mound, Davis’ first passion was music. When he was 12, he picked out “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men and “Ribbon in the Sky” by Stevie Wonder on his grandmother’s upright piano.

About five years ago, he recorded “Dear Memphis,’’ a song about growing up in Memphis, which got radio play.

“When I first started doing music, my name was Teddy B,” says Davis. Preacha Tim came later. “I’m a member of a motorcycle club called the High Rollers. The guys who brought me into that club gave me that name. When I first joined, I had a 1300 Suzuki Hayabusa.”

Does Davis own a black leather jacket? “Absolutely.”

As far as food goes, he says, “I always enjoyed eating Chinese food. One day I just started asking questions [at] different Chinese and Japanese restaurants. I would inquire about how to prep the rice and things like that.”

His first hibachi cooking attempt wasn’t great. The rice was “very mushy and gummy,” but “the meat turned out really good.”

Davis didn’t try hibachi cooking again until a few years later. “I started noticing I was getting a little bit better at it.”

About a year or so ago, he began posting pictures of his food “as a joke” online. “I started doing this little segment on my Facebook page called Ghetto Gourmet. I would make meals and give them a name after a street or a neighborhood in Memphis.” Like the Semmes Street Seafood Boil, which included crab legs and shrimp.

That turned into the beginning of Hood Hibachi. Davis showcased his hibachi steak meal and his pepper steak and rice meal. He decided to “do this for real” after he got so many requests from people asking if his meals were for sale.

Davis had a Hood Hibachi logo made. “The logo is an African-American guy. He’s kind of chubby with a chef coat and a do-rag. He has a spatula and a knife in his hand.”

Davis bought his first “hibachi grill” — a pancake griddle — at Target, and he began selling hibachi meals online. “We sold so many meals that one day that I couldn’t do it at home again.”

That’s when he contacted Memphis Kitchen Co-Op Marketplace, where he’s open for lunch Mondays through Wednesdays. “We probably do about 50 to 60 meals a week.”

On weekends, he cooks hibachi meals at people’s homes.

Davis, who wants to eventually open a brick-and-mortar restaurant, continues to find time for his songwriting. “That’s still a part of who I am and what I want to do. As odd as it may sound, one of my prayers is that even Hood Hibachi in some kind of way will lead me into the fulfillment of my musical dreams.”

Memphis Kitchen Co-Op Marketplace is at 7942 Fischer Steel Road in Cordova. For info on Hood Hibachi, call 901-563-1769 or visit hoodhibachimemphis.com.

Camri McNary originally wanted to make a living concentrating on people’s faces, not their stomachs.

“I wanted to be a makeup artist growing up,” McNary says. “That was my passion.”

She had second thoughts after she graduated from beauty school. “I said, ‘I can’t imagine doing this my entire life. Touching people’s faces and doing their hair. Maybe this isn’t what I want to do.’ It just didn’t feel like fun. It felt more like work. And I don’t like the feeling of work.”

But now, McNary, owner of The Vegan Goddess, probably works harder than she would have as a beautician. “I cook huge portions of things. It’s definitely work, but it’s still fun,” she says.

In addition to holding Sunday pop-ups of her vegan creations, McNary teaches cooking classes and makes and sells her packaged dishes at Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace.

She began “experimenting” in the kitchen when she was 8 years old. “I made a Mexican pizza,” she remembers. “Back in the day I ate meat. I didn’t grow up vegan.”

McNary helped her grandmother, veteran professional cook Donna Carr, in the kitchen. McNary marveled at Carr’s expertise. “She flowed so naturally. Like it was instinctual.”

Two years later, McNary began cooking family breakfasts. “I was a chunky kid growing up. That’s why I transitioned to vegan. I loved cooking, loved eating,” she says.

After beauty school, McNary worked in a Kroger organic foods section, where she learned about holistic and natural herbs and gluten-free products. “My grandmother used to cook nothing healthy. I wasn’t familiar with any of those things.”

McNary became a pescatarian after she got a job at the old Stash Home Furniture store. She met a lot of customers from India who had relocated to Memphis to work at FedEx.“[They] were big on vegan. They introduced me to things they ate and their lifestyles, and it intrigued me. And I did my own research,” she says.

When she stopped eating beef and dairy and ate only seafood, she says, “I noticed a huge change in my energy, my body, my skin.”

McNary began creating vegan dishes, which she posted on Facebook. “I would make enchiladas, tacos, burritos, everything vegan,” she says.

People began sharing her posts, and she built on that momentum. “It was like a chain effect. It happened so quickly.”

McNary, who was selling health insurance from home, officially began her vegan food business in June 2021.

She started out simple, with a few items, including a Cheesy Gordita Crunch, patterned after the Taco Bell item. “Completely vegan. I put beans, rice, chipotle sauce, mushrooms and walnuts, and vegan flatbread, and I covered it in cheese and wrapped it in a crunchy taco shell.”

McNary made vegan versions of familiar fast food items. In addition to “veganizing the entire Taco Bell menu,” McNary made a vegan version of McDonald’s McRib and chicken sandwiches.

People can be skeptical about vegan food. “They think it’s rabbit or bird food.”

McNary quit her health insurance job after The Vegan Goddess “blew up.”

On March 6th, McNary and her business partner Rebecca Devlin will feature a “vegan Taco Bell menu” from noon to 4 p.m. at her pop-up at Memphis Kitchen Co-Op. Previous pop-ups include one that featured her “barbecue tacos” made of jackfruit, which has the texture of pulled pork, with black beans and pico de gallo.

In addition to her ever-increasing menu, McNary makes her own sauces. “I use chickpeas and northern beans — white beans — to make the base of the sauce, and I infuse it with chili peppers and wine, lime, and cilantro. All the good flavors.”

McNary eventually wants to open a food truck and, perhaps, a brick-and-mortar restaurant. “I want to go nationwide,” she says.

McNary wants people to experience vegan food. “I don’t necessarily want to push people to be vegan. It’s more, ‘Listen to your body and how it reacts when you eat certain things.’ That’s what I promote.”

Memphis Kitchen Co-Op & Marketplace is at 7942 Fischer Steel Road in Cordova; (901) 674-2541.