Today we’d like to introduce you to Jovan Dais.
Hi Jovan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Aye Tea Elle was formed by three best friends that met in southwest Atlanta at Beecher Hills Elementary school in the 1st grade. With a background in the entertainment industry, we have always had a knack for attracting people, and we understand show business. We wanted to give our community an experience like no other that includes amazing service, delectable tapas, craft cocktails, and some amazing talent. Aye Tea Elle is our 1st restaurant, and during the building process, we were affected by Covid like the rest of the world. What seemed like it an unfortunate situation turned into a real blessing, in the middle of our building process, the next door neighbor moved out which gave us the opportunity to expand. Our goal was to build in our own community so that we may be able to give back to our community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, we had to do a complete buildout, I talking new plumbing, new electrical, new roof, new concrete outside, new grease trap, new equipment. We occupy an older building so we had many issues with it being old, we had to replace the waterline, we had to run a new gas line to the building, we had to lay a new dumpster pad, it’s like it was always something, once we installed new ac units we noticed the dripping from the condensation and we didn’t want that so we had to get the ac ducts wrapped as well. We fought for a tobacco license, College Park does not typically allow hookah, however we were able to change how the city looked at tobacco. We currently see cigars and hookah outside only!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I started my journey as a singer/songwriter, later I became a studio engineer and got also got into building recording studios. I have built some of the best studios in the city. I specialized in acoustics and soundproofing and incorporated that skill set in the restaurant.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My partners are Scott Corbin and Don Bratton, these are the two guys that I built this place with, my brothers from another mother. We got a lot of insight from other restaurant owners in the area, Sheema who owns a few restaurants in southwest Atlanta (baltimore seafood, bella, garden parc, gave us a lot of insight and assistance. She connected me with a general contractor that she trusted by the name of Melvin.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@ayeteaelle.com
- Website: www.ayeteaelle.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ayeteaelle
- Facebook: facebook.com/ayeteaelle
- Twitter: twitter.com/ayeteaelle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_OPD83PjBUAUSf7JFVU4xg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aye-tea-elle-elevated-tapas-college-park?osq=aye+tea+elle
- Other: https://www.opentable.com/r/aye-tea-elle-elevated-tapas-reservations-college-park?restref=1191361&lang=en-US&ot_source=Restaurant%20website
Image Credits
Photographer: Aleacea Dais
