Mildred Council
Restaurateur Mildred “Mama Dip” Council has been at the forefront of Southern cooking’s rise from unappreciated eats to highly-respected cuisine, serving simple and sumptuous dishes to everyone from college students to Craig Claiborne. Like many children, Council grew up making mud pies, but few of us translate that childhood playtime into a living. But in 1938, at age nine, Council started cooking for her family in Chatham County. After a brief dalliance with beauty school, she headed back to the kitchen, working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s dining hall and in fraternity houses and private homes. Her first venture into small business was in 1957
working with her mother-in-law at Big Bill’s Barbecue, a tiny take-out eatery in Chapel Hill. There she began honing her business skills and thinking about opening her own establishment.
Almost 20 years later, local real estate agent and developer George Tate had a line on a restaurant that was closing on West Rosemary Street. A staunch supporter of the local African-American business community, Tate encouraged Council to take over the space for her
own eatery. Dip’s Country Kitchen opened in 1976 with three employees, 18 seats and $64 to buy ingredients for breakfast. Within a year, demand was so high that Council launched a robust take-out business. Though Council’s business was thriving, many other African-American enterprises were closing. It was a bittersweet time. Each year, more and more customers flocked to the eatery, drawn by her traditional Southern cooking. In 1985, Council rented additional space next door and expanded the restaurant to accommodate
90 diners, a walk-in cooler, two ovens, two fryers and a dishwasher. She also began selling her own dressings and sauces. And in 1999, Council purchased a lot across the street and built a new restaurant from the ground up.
Mama Dip’s employs several Council family members and has given rise to other Council family foodpreneurs. Her daughter, Neecy, operates a cake mix company; granddaughter Tonya has a cookie business. Dip’s has become a landmark that draws locals, college students, visitors, celebrities and food critics from all over. New York Times food critic Craig Claiborne has written about it; Council was
even a guest on A Prairie Home Companion. She was named North Carolina’s Small Business Person of the Year in 2002 and was third runner-up in that year’s national competition. Council co-founded the Community Dinner and founded the Share the Love Fund, which assists disadvantaged youth. She also served on the Orange County Development Center Advisory Committee and Advisory Board on Aging. Her civic work was rewarded with the Harvard Club of Research Triangle’s Roland Giduz Award for community service.
For her part in putting Chapel Hill on the culinary map, her generous support of local organizations, and her leadership in the minority business community, we proudly induct Mildred “Mama Dip” Council into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.
working with her mother-in-law at Big Bill’s Barbecue, a tiny take-out eatery in Chapel Hill. There she began honing her business skills and thinking about opening her own establishment.
Almost 20 years later, local real estate agent and developer George Tate had a line on a restaurant that was closing on West Rosemary Street. A staunch supporter of the local African-American business community, Tate encouraged Council to take over the space for her
own eatery. Dip’s Country Kitchen opened in 1976 with three employees, 18 seats and $64 to buy ingredients for breakfast. Within a year, demand was so high that Council launched a robust take-out business. Though Council’s business was thriving, many other African-American enterprises were closing. It was a bittersweet time. Each year, more and more customers flocked to the eatery, drawn by her traditional Southern cooking. In 1985, Council rented additional space next door and expanded the restaurant to accommodate
90 diners, a walk-in cooler, two ovens, two fryers and a dishwasher. She also began selling her own dressings and sauces. And in 1999, Council purchased a lot across the street and built a new restaurant from the ground up.
Mama Dip’s employs several Council family members and has given rise to other Council family foodpreneurs. Her daughter, Neecy, operates a cake mix company; granddaughter Tonya has a cookie business. Dip’s has become a landmark that draws locals, college students, visitors, celebrities and food critics from all over. New York Times food critic Craig Claiborne has written about it; Council was
even a guest on A Prairie Home Companion. She was named North Carolina’s Small Business Person of the Year in 2002 and was third runner-up in that year’s national competition. Council co-founded the Community Dinner and founded the Share the Love Fund, which assists disadvantaged youth. She also served on the Orange County Development Center Advisory Committee and Advisory Board on Aging. Her civic work was rewarded with the Harvard Club of Research Triangle’s Roland Giduz Award for community service.
For her part in putting Chapel Hill on the culinary map, her generous support of local organizations, and her leadership in the minority business community, we proudly induct Mildred “Mama Dip” Council into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.