04/13/2026
The Hype Update
I have to tell you what just happened.
Hey Tasters,
Okay this is a long one so get comfy!
I am still processing what I’m about to tell you. Honestly I’ve been walking around my house in disbelief for the past week and I just need to sit down and share this with you guys because if I don’t I’m going to burst haha!
Last week I was sitting at my kitchen island. It was still super early in the morning. My hair was tied up in my sleep scarf, I hadn’t even fully woken up yet, and I was just scrolling through my emails like I do every morning trying to get a head start on the day. And then I saw it. An email from a major international news network saying they wanted to come to Chicago to film at Cleo’s. Not a local news station. Not a podcast. An international news network that is not even based in this country. They are traveling to Chicago and they wanted to make Cleo’s a part of the story.
You guys! I almost fell right out of my chair. My eyes immediately welled up with tears. Not sad tears. The kind of tears where joy and shock and disbelief all hit you at the exact same time and your body doesn’t know what else to do but cry. I had to physically get up from my laptop and walk away because I genuinely thought I misread the email. Like maybe my eyes were still waking up and I was seeing things. So I walked to the other side of the kitchen, took a deep breath, came back, sat down, and read it again. Word by word. And it said exactly what I thought it said.
I didn’t even finish reading the whole email before I took a screenshot on my laptop and sent it to my mom, my dad, my brother Kham, and TT. I just needed someone else to see it so I knew it was real. That’s the kind of moment it was. The kind where you don’t even know what to do with yourself so you just frantically send it out.
Now here’s the part that really got me. The answer to the question that was running through my mind ...
HOW IN THE WORLD DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN?
.. was right there in the email. Someone who had been to Cleo’s before, someone who I had met and built a relationship with, was involved in the making of this project. And he’s the one who pointed them in our direction.
His name is Dilla. If you are from Chicago or if you follow Chicago content on social media you already know who he is. Shermann “Dilla” Thomas is Chicago’s most well-known historian. He is the founder of Chicago Mahogany Tours, the 2022 Chicago Tourism Ambassador of the Year, and has built one of the most respected platforms in the city dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of Chicago’s south and west side neighborhoods. He has over 100,000 followers, his Bronzeville neighborhood tour is one of the most popular tours in the city, and he has done incredible work making sure people understand the depth and the beauty of the communities that built this city.
The first time Dilla came to Cleo’s was back in November 2024 at our Wells location. That’s almost a year and a half ago. We took a photo together, talked, and I could tell right away that he genuinely cared about supporting businesses in the community. It wasn’t a transactional visit. It was a real one. He came back again. And then he brought one of his tours to our Bronzeville location. One of the clients on that tour was Clayco, one of the largest construction and real estate companies in the country. That introduction through Dilla’s tour turned into a catering relationship and Clayco is now one of our catering clients.
And now, a year and a half later, Dilla is the reason an international news network is sitting inside our Bronzeville restaurant filming Cleo’s for the world to see. Let's just think about that. One visit in November 2024 turned into a tour, which turned into a catering client, which turned into a global media opportunity. All because of one relationship.
I need you guys to really hear me on this because this is one of the most important lessons I have learned in my entire entrepreneurial journey. Relationships are the building blocks of your story. Every single one of them matters. The way you treat people, the energy you put out, the respect you give to every person who walks through your door, that energy always comes back to you in some kind of way. Always and in all ways (If you know Ryan Serhant (https://www.instagram.com/ryanserhant/) you know where I got that from). And this time it came back with an opportunity to be featured on a world news network. You just never know which relationship is going to be the one that blows your mind.
The filming happened this past weekend at our Bronzeville location and I need to walk you through it because it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life.
The crew arrived around 3 o’clock. Dilla was there. The host was there. And then there was a two person camera crew, all three of whom traveled here from another country just to capture this story. They sat down and the first thing they did was eat. They had the Float and Fly so they got the best of both worlds, the fried catfish and the chicken wings. They had the pineapple candied sweet potatoes and the green beans. And of course they had the muffins. You already know how that went. They loved everything.
But here’s the moment that really got me. While the cameras were rolling, Dilla and the host were sitting there talking about Cleo’s. Not just eating the food but talking about what this restaurant means, what it represents, the culture behind it, the story behind it. And I’m standing there watching them have this conversation with a camera crew from another country capturing every single word. And then I turned my head to the right and I saw the rest of the restaurant. Customers packed into the lobby. People standing at the counter placing orders. Others sitting down eating their food. More people waiting outside in their cars. Our hospitality champions behind the counter taking orders, calling out names, keeping the flow moving. It was alive in there.
And in that moment everything just hit me all at once. Because my mind immediately flashed back to the very beginning. I’m talking about the days when it was just us. TT was taking orders at the counter. I was on the line cooking the food. Amber was to my right bagging orders. My dad and my brother Kham were on the fryers dropping chicken and catfish. That was the whole operation. That was Cleo’s.
I remember when TT had to walk outside and try to get people to come in. Just standing on the sidewalk asking people to give us a chance. I remember when a half pan of mac and cheese would last the entire service because we didn’t have enough customers to go through it. I remember days when we would serve 15 people total. Fifteen. For the whole day. And now I’m standing in that same restaurant watching an international film crew document what we’ve built while customers are packed wall to wall and we’re going through 18 full pans of mac and cheese in a single service.
We didn’t leave until after 5 o’clock that evening. And when I tell you the crew didn’t just film Cleo’s, they felt Cleo’s. They felt the energy. The warmth. That feeling of walking into your grandmother’s kitchen where everybody is welcome and the food is made with love. That’s what we’ve built. And to see people from the other side of the world feel it the same way our Tasters feel it every single day ...
I don’t have the words for that. I really don’t.
And because this week just kept on giving — I also got the incredible opportunity to attend the NCAA National Championship game last Monday. Gordon Food Service, our food distributor who we’ve been with since 2021, invited me to the game. One of their GMs reached out because they know I love basketball and asked if I wanted to go. Michigan versus UConn at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home of the Colts. Let me tell you something, watching a basketball game inside of a football stadium is a completely different experience. The place was massive. Being that close to the action at a national championship game was jaw dropping. I met some amazing people and we had the best time.
I share all of this with you guys because you are the reason any of this is possible. Every order, every visit, every time you tell a friend about Cleo’s, every time you drive across town or fly in from another state just to eat with us, that is what builds the kind of story that catches the attention of a global news network. That is what turns a twelve seat restaurant in Bronzeville into something the whole world gets to see. None of this happens without you.
This journey is incredible. And I am so grateful to be on it with every single one of you.
Love you Tasters! Miss Cleo
Drop The Info
The Loop
190 North Wells
Chicago, IL 60606
OPEN Monday - Friday 11a to 6p
CLOSED Saturday & Sunday
312-285-2140
Last order taken 15 minutes before closing.
Limited seating. 16 seats.
Bronzeville
4248 South Cottage Grove
Chicago, IL 60653
OPEN Friday & Saturday 12p to 8p
OPEN Sunday 12p to 6p
CLOSED Monday - Thursday
773-633-2757
Last order taken 35 minutes before closing.
Limited seating. 12 seats.
Lakeview
2826 North Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60657
OPEN Wednesday - Sunday 11a to 8p
CLOSED Monday & Tuesday
773-799-8509
Last order taken 15 minutes before closing.
Lots of seating. 50 seats (indoor) + 50 seats (outdoor patio).
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