Dexter Weaver has spent 25 years watching downtown Athens blossom with high-rise apartments and parking decks.
Weaver D’s celebrates its 25th anniversary by putting on a benefit show at the 40 Watt tonight. Photo by Sara Caldwell | The Red & Black
“I feel good ’cause I’m right in the midst of growth,” said Weaver, who owns and operates Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods off Broad Street. “I like what I do.”
Weaver’s soul food has become a staple for students looking for a taste of their mother’s home cooking, with a hearty selection of casseroles, chicken, pork and hot side dishes to choose from.
“We have a built in customer base,” Weaver said. “I know [students] need good vegetables, and every time that it comes on the radio that it’s recommended you eat more broccoli, more collards, more leafy greens, it helps me.”
To celebrate the restaurant’s 25th birthday, Weaver has teamed up with the 40 Watt and Automatic Music For The People — a play off Weaver’s catchphrase “Automatic for the People” — for 2Five, a show tonight to support AIDS Athens.
“I try to work with different causes,” Weaver said. “I’ve done stuff with the homeless shelter and the soup kitchen … and we just wanted to reach out to another charity.”
Automatic Music for the People was started in January as a way to bring local musicians and the Athens community together.
It has yet to be determined how much of the proceeds will go to AIDS Athens, since Weaver is unsure of how many tickets will be sold.
Festivities for Weaver D’s week-long anniversary began Sunday. The week has featured a charity auction and live music at the restaurant, a cocktail-buffet night at Allgood and a karaoke night at Max Canada.
Dexter Weaver said he has built a solid customer base in Athens. Photo by Avery Draut | The Red & Black
“Weaver D’s is an Athens staple, and it’s an honor to be asked to play their birthday part,” said Andrew McFarland, drummer for the pop-electric band Reptar, who will perform at tonight’s benefit.
Also in the lineup are local acts The Swank, Mouser, Valentine and West, and Ashutto Mirra.
Reptar’s keyboardist, William Kennedy, has been eating at Weaver D’s for so long that he created his own plate called “The Athenian,” which is “like an amalgamation of the entire Southern paradigm manifested in this heavenly plate of soul food,” McFarland said.
Weaver, who was born in Athens in 1954, credits his success during the tough economic times to his passion for soul food and the fact students can’t get enough of his chicken and pork chops.
“They love some collard greens,” Weaver said. “For some it’s their first try with the collards, but they eat them and like them.”