Meet Alexandria Blakely and Amber Thurmond of Greedy Girls Atlanta in Smyrna, GA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Blakely and Amber Thurmond.

Greedy Girls Atlanta was conceptualized by cousins Alex Blakely and Amber Thurmond in early 2018. We moved to Atlanta in 2012 after leaving Nashville due to very limited options for food and entertainment, especially for people of color. When we got to ATL, all of the things we naturally did for the fun involved eating! Our social media followers began to recognize us for our socialite activities and people began reaching out to us by the dozens for advice on where to eat and what to do in the city. Being the business-minded ladies that we are, we decided to use social media as a platform to highlight the best restaurants Atlanta had to offer. We leveraged our natural talents of event planning, sales and marketing and put together a business plan to get Greedy Girls off the ground and in the mouths of any and everybody looking to live good and eat even better. We plan dinner parties, brunches, date-night activities and work with many local and national brands advertising their restaurants and products.

Has it been a smooth road?
Like any business, the road ain’t always so smooth! Before starting we did do our research on who else was food blogging and how they were seemingly finding success, How many were black? How many were female? How many were working in a pair? Once we found our place, we began to work on securing partnerships and sponsorship opportunities, which is an uphill battle. We emailed every restaurant and event planning company that we could think of. Alex’s background is in marketing and Amber has been know to be a super savvy sales woman so we felt like we couldn’t loose. But for the first five months of business, we did. It can be discouraging to be ignored or told no. NO ONE would partner with us. We kept pressing forward and through a corporate invite got the opportunity to attend an Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame dinner where we are able to network with some BIG names in sports and entertainment. Networking has been one of the most valuable parts of our business. Since honing in more on our stellar networking abilities and natural gift of gab, we have been able to secure more partnerships in the past month than we did in the first five months of business.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Greedy Girls Atlanta story. Tell us more about it.
Greedy Girls Atlanta are set apart by the ability to relate to the responsible millennial that is in between the stages of life where they want to turn up but still have the energy to make it work in the morning and show up like a boss. We don’t only show food but we highlight ourselves and present a classy image with a down to earth attitude, which is hard to find on social media.

The Greedy Girls are two girls eating their way around the city of Atlanta. We specialize in highlighting restaurants that you may not have heard about in general conversation. The tucked away, boutique style venues not typically frequented by young, people of color. Whether it’s a rooftop bar on top of the Moxie hotel, a hideaway pub in Inman Park or a low-key sushi bistro in Buckhead located who-knows-where?? Well, the Greedy Girls do! We want young people of color to have access to and know about all the nice places that don’t typically target people who look like us. We sell also sell lifestyle merch related to brunching/eating.

We are wildly known for brunch on Sunday. We plan brunch parties and open them up to people who may not have a set group of friends to adventure with. As business owners, this is what we are most proud of. Giving people the opportunity to genuinely connect with others in a relaxed environment is what makes us smile. We truly believe collaboration is the new currency! After all, if it wasn’t for networking, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Influencer advertising is making waves in the industry and we honestly do not see it going anywhere any time soon. Brands are paying special attention to how they are being received and influencers are helping to collect that data at a rapid pace. In reference to Greedy Girls, we get a lot of attention as micro-influencers. We don’t have 10k following but what we do have is a more perceived genuine voice that is more trusted than someone who has 10k+. People trust who they know and can relate to. As long as brands can keep advertising at a fraction of the cost (vs. what they have historically paid for print/tv/radio spots), they will. Social media is the trend. It’s where the customer is and where brands want and need to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.greedygirlsatlanta.com
• Email: greedygirlsatlanta@gmail.com
• Instagram: @greedygirlsatlanta
• Facebook: @greedygirlsatlanta
• Twitter: @greedygirlsatl

Image Credit:
all pictures are owned by Greedy Girls Atlanta

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