The Food Finds Worth Sharing

Jonathan Breeden: [00:00:00] On this week’s episode of The Best of Johnston County podcast, our guest is Chris Creech, the founder of NC Food Creechers, which is an online social media platform promoting restaurants and small businesses right here in Johnston County.

We talked to Chris about his growing up in Clayton, how he got into the pharmaceutical business, and why he decided to become a creator in the food scene and an expert in the Johnston County food scene. So listen in.

Welcome to another episode of Best of Johnston County, brought to you by Breeden Law Office. Our host, Jonathan Breeden, an experienced family lawyer with a deep connection to the community, is ready to take you on a journey through the area that he has called home for over 20 years. Whether it’s a deep dive into the love locals have for the county or unraveling the complexities of family law, Best of Johnston County presents an authentic slice of this unique community.

Jonathan Breeden: Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Best of Johnston County podcast. [00:01:00] I’m your host, Jonathan Breeden, and on today’s episode, we have Chris Creech, the founder of NC Food Creechers, which is an online Facebook, YouTube TikTok webpage that promotes restaurants and interesting things to do in and around Johnston County.

He’s doing exactly what I, I’m trying to do with this podcast by putting out positive stuff about things you can do and places you can eat right here in Johnston County, and I’m really excited that he accepted my invitation to come on, because we’re doing a lot of great things. We’re both trying to put out the positivity of Johnston County, and I’m really looking forward to this conversation.

And we’re gonna talk about some of his favorite restaurants that you might not know about. And before we started, he’s already given me two or three that I didn’t know exist that I’m definitely gonna go to in the next few weeks. But before we get to that, I’d like to like to ask you to like, follow, or subscribe to this podcast wherever you see it, whether it be on [00:02:00] Apple, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, or any of the other social media channels of the Best Johnston County Podcast.

The Best Johnston County Podcast comes out every single Monday, and has now for close to three years. We are getting up towards of 150 episodes by the time this one runs. It is hard to believe that we’ve been at this for three years, and we’re gonna keep doing it as long as you keep listening and we keep getting positive feedback.

So, make sure you give us that five-star review down rever- below. We love to get those. Welcome, Kris.

Chris Creech: Hey. How are you?

Jonathan Breeden: Good. I appreciate you coming on. I I love your content. I’ve been following it for several months, and I’m like, “I gotta reach out.” And it’s educational. It’s a lot of fun.

So before we get into that, what’s your name? What do you do?

Chris Creech: Chris Creech. I’m the founder, I guess, of NC Food Creechers. I have a full-time job at a pharmaceutical company, but I decided to do this on the side and it’s been real rewarding with getting to know the business owners and hearing the, the success it’s caused in their business.

So I’ve enjoyed that.

Jonathan Breeden: No, it’s, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. And I think you grew up in Clayton. You said you went to Clayton High School?[00:03:00]

Chris Creech: Yeah. Yep.

Jonathan Breeden: Went to Clayton. And at one point, you worked at Griffeys,

Chris Creech: I think. I worked at Griffeys back in the day. Yep. Back in 2012. So,

Jonathan Breeden: yeah. I got you. So where did you get the idea to sort of become a creator, I guess. You’re really a creator.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: I mean, you have a following. You think about it, it is, you know, you have a plan. Like, so where’d you get the creator idea?

Chris Creech: So, you know, I never really thought I’d ever do any videos. I just scrolled on Facebook and scrolled on TikTok, but I’d seen somebody do like a food hack where they made something up that was not on the menu to, that looked cool.

And I had a few of those that I’d done, so I was like, “Let me try one video.” So I did a Bojangles video with my favorite, what I get at Bojangles, which is a cajun filet biscuit combo, seasoned fries, extra seasoning, and a large diet mountain dew. So that video did pretty well. You know, I got 1,000 views on my first video, which I’ve seen people not get hardly any on the first video.

So, then I was like, “Oh, this might be it.” So then I, you know, I kinda branched out and saw what would do good, and food stuck with it, and [00:04:00] doing local stuff, people like that. And then I did my hack that, you know, I said, “Oh, let me do this.” So I had the Slim Chickens had just opened up here, and I did a hack where I always get the Slim Salad, Slim Chicken Salad, and I got korean barbecue sauce on it, and got, and wood ranch, and it’s just a little hack of getting something on the chicken.

And then that video got 30,000 views, so I was like, “Huh, this might be pretty cool, and it might be lucrative in the future.” And then, the further it got along, I was like, “I’m just gonna promote Johnston County.” And I’ve made a lot of friends along the way, a lot of restaurant owners that are friends, so it’s worked out really cool.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great. That’s great. And where’s the Slim Chickens that you did that sort of second hack at?

Chris Creech: It’s in Smithfield, right near to Walmart and Chick-fil-A. Well, Chick-fil-A used to be there.

Jonathan Breeden: The old Chick-fil-A, right there on Riley Boulevard, right? They’ve only been there a couple of years. What all kinds of stuff they have at Slim Chickens? I’ve not been there.

Chris Creech: They have, you know, you got your chicken tenders, you got boneless wings or boneless bites. You got salads, you got, What else do they have? They have chicken and waffles. Okay. Just a bunch of different chicken, chicken items. And the, and [00:05:00] probably, like, 15-plus sauces, which is what I li- I like the Korean barbecue sauce, if you couldn’t tell.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, no, no, that’s great. So when did you decide that it was gonna. I mean, when did you assigning a brand and, you know, NC Food Creechers and all of that? Like, did you have that when you started, or you’re like, “Okay, this is starting to get a following. I need to come up with a brand name”?

Chris Creech: I didn’t have it at the beginning. So I’m still just Chris Creech on Facebook, because I didn’t change it, ’cause I already had a existing, like, friends list. But I think probably three or four months in, I was just sitting there thinking one day. I was like, “Hey, that’s a cool name, NC Food Creechers.” My last name’s Creech, it’s a little play on that.

And like three or four months in, and once lot of my videos at the beginning on TikTok were doing really well. Like, I’d get 10,000 regularly, and I probably once or twice a week I’d have 10,000 views on TikTok. And then I had another hack that I did at Cook Out where I got cheddar style on a hotdog and cheddar style on the fries, which people knew you could do cheddar style on the burger.

They didn’t know you could do it on everything else. Right. So [00:06:00] a guy, one of my friends that worked Ryan told me about it, and that video hit 732,000 views. So I was like, “Oh, this is pretty cool.” So, and then people were like common I have thousands of probably, I can’t remember, maybe 1,000 comments and, 20,000 plus shares.

So, and people were doing that all over and, you know, you could type it in and it would say cheddar style hack or whatever. So it kind of went viral on there. So I thought it’s pretty cool. If I can keep doing this, it’ll be nice. And then doing it with smaller businesses that could grow, wonderful.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great. That’s great. That’s great. So you just keep, so the videos I see the ones on Facebook. Are the ones on Facebook the same ones that are on TikTok, or do you use separate content for separate platforms?

Chris Creech: No, I generally do. So I edit all my videos on TikTok and add all the sounds on TikTok, and then I upload it and then it saves into my gallery on my phone, and then I’ll upload it to Facebook.

And at first TikTok was the big thing, but now Facebook is my big view. Like I get more views on Facebook than TikTok now, which is wild. So, but both of them are pretty [00:07:00] successful.

Jonathan Breeden: I got you. So how often are you putting out new videos?

Chris Creech: I try to do Four to five a week, and then sometimes I’ll be just like, “I wanna do a video,” so I’ll do it.

And then recently I’ve been doing, like, cooking videos with my wife, trying to do f- funny content. Like, there’s a, a fam- a husband and wife in Benson called the Tollers and they do relatable content and they have way more, they have millions of followers. But, you know, trying to get, getting in that game, like re- people like relatable stuff where I, I’m not always out of business, but if I, and if I don’t wanna go out that day, I can do it at home with our cooking, right?

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Well, that’s true. That’s true. Yeah, I mean, it’s been, it’s been pretty fascinating. the videos that you’ve done that, that I like the most are sort of the places that are getting ready to open or having their grand opening or that you’ve heard are under construction, sort of like a coming soon type thing.

Yeah.

And so I found that extremely educational and helpful. I know going back, you talked about we got the Culver’s in Selma. It’s been open now for a couple months, but you were [00:08:00] talking about they were hiring and now it’s gonna open next week. And I think you interviewed the manager or somebody, I think, or somebody did.

But, you know, and then you did Eastfield Development.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: Now there’s a Olive Garden.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: A LongHorn Steakhouse. There’s a Chick-fil-A. The Smithfield Chick-fil-A has moved to Eastfield there at I-95 at Exit 97. So a lot of that stuff over in that area around Selma and the outlets.

Chris Creech: Yeah. So I think growing up in Johnston County and being here my whole life, you get connections over the years, right? Like, I know some people. I’ve also done a video, I have a connection out there at Flowers, so I did a video there. Funny story, I have a connection for Eastfield. Before I ever did videos or anything, we were at a friend’s wedding and I was sitting at a table and I got to know a guy that was, like, a manager of that project or that did something big in a project.

And then, like, probably like a year or so before I started, then I got in there, I was like, “Hey, I wonder if I could get up with him and see if I could get some, some details on what’s coming soon.” So I’ve got up with him and got some. When something’s [00:09:00] released to him, he can tell me, when he can tell me, I get it first.

And I try to double check and triple check before I release something. I don’t want to be wrong about something. People don’t

Jonathan Breeden: Right

Chris Creech: trust me anymore. So yeah, I think growing up in the County has helped me with this as well.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Right. Well, it’s, it, yeah, it’s, I mean, it is, it is fascinating. I, I’ve learned a lot.

the other day you went to a cheesecake vending machine in Middlesex

Chris Creech: Yeah

Jonathan Breeden: right on the North Carolina. A lot of people realize part of Middlesex is in Johnston County.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: And you went to a cheesecake vending machine that they put cheesecakes in at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock almost every day.

Chris Creech: Mm.

Jonathan Breeden: And there was a lot of people waiting to get out of this vending machine. Yeah. How did you find that cheesecake vending machine, and where is it?

Chris Creech: So this couple A and J, they do TikToks as well, and they have quite a big following. And I just saw it on theirs one day and I was like, “Huh, that’s my forte, right? I could go do these cheesecake videos.” So I did it, and it got huge success. And I’m friends with the owners now, and they said after the video, like, 90% of [00:10:00] the people came because of my video after that. And he said they. You know, they were selling out in 30 minutes to an hour, now it’s, like, 10 to 15 minutes, all of it.

And they said, the last time I talked to them one week, they had 40 cheesecakes, and they sold 40 cheesecakes, whole cheesecakes that day. meant that week. And it was just pretty, pretty neat. And a really good family. They have a cool kitchen. They hand cut everything. It’s just a amazing place.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. So where is it? Where is the vending machine?

Chris Creech: It’s at their house, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, it’s at their house.

Chris Creech: So they built this little, like, shed chicken coop looking thing.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: And it has two vending machines in there, and you just pull up, go to the vending machine. They’re $7 a slice. And you can press the button, it’ll move, and they have different selections in there. It’s pretty neat. And they sell eggs as well. It’s called Eggcetera.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: And they sell eggs, but they got into the cheesecake thing, and it’s taken off for them.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Well, I know that you are a big fan of Mr. Outrageous, as I am.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: With their great hamburgers. And he’s had a food truck for several years. He did have a booth there at the Old [00:11:00] North State Food Hall. That’s currently closed. I’m hoping the food hall comes back in the future, but Adventure Development, Eastfield, they closed the food hall. I don’t know why. But anyway, do you know why the food hall got closed?

Chris Creech: No.

Jonathan Breeden: It’s probably lack of traffic.

Chris Creech: But I think lack of traffic. I don’t know. I think it was tucked away. It was kind of expensive, and I think people.

Jonathan Breeden: It was expensive, yeah.

Chris Creech: People probably steered away from that because it was kind of expensive. And, you know, convenience is a big thing, and that may be why my stuff’s good. I don’t want to go to this restaurant, but I can look at his page to see if it’s good before I go. So I don’t know, like, it’s kinda off the beaten path, I feel like, a little bit.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, that’s true. That’s true.

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Jonathan Breeden: So, but, but you just told me that Mr. [00:12:00] Outrageous is now in the outlets in Smithfield.

Chris Creech: Yep.

Jonathan Breeden: So, where is he at? What’s he doing there?

Chris Creech: So he’s over there where the old, What’s over there? There’s a, Auntie Annie’s over there near the Nautica.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: In the little, the little hole in the side over there n- on the Crocs side.

Jonathan Breeden: Right.

Chris Creech: And, but yeah, he’s a, Marquis’s an awesome dude. He he has cheesecakes as well. I wanted to plug that ’cause his cheesecakes are good as well. But I just went in there one day and did a video and it did really well, and I’ve gotten to be friends with the owner now. We’re gonna come out with a burger and a chicken sandwich, and we’re gonna name it kinda after me.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: That’s gonna be cool. I also got a burger at Kitchen of Oz called the Creature Feature, and it’s, it’s his top-selling burger, so y’all go check it out.

Jonathan Breeden: Where is Kitchen of Oz?

Chris Creech: Kitchen of Oz is in the Harper’s Flea Market in Smithfield off of 301. Go check it out, cool place. You know, you go over there, go search around the flea market.

I th- I can’t think off the top of my head, I think there’s 80-plus vendors and over 70,000 square feet, and you can go in there and eat, go shop around, go get a burger. He’s got Bright Leaf hotdogs fries, [00:13:00] chicken tenders, everything, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Right, and the flea market, it’s open on the weekends, correct?

Chris Creech: Friday, Saturday, Sunday every week.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: But he’s actually looking into getting a standalone business. We, me and him, Nate’s a great guy, the owner of Kitchen of Oz. And he’s actually thinking of, he’s looking at somewhere in Pikeville right now that he’s, knows of open business. So hopefully he can get that where you can get him more days a week.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Well, that’s great. That’s great. What are some of your other favorite restaurants around that you’ve met while you’re out doing this sort of food creator content stuff?

Chris Creech: I’ll tell you one of my favorites, right on the Johnston County, Wake County line, Lost Carolinas. It’s a little gas station right there off of Guy Road. The junkyard’s right there, you go and then Guy Road crosses. There’s a little gas station that looks like an old, old country store, but she has the best quesabirrias you’ve ever had.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: I’m trying to think. Kitchen and Vaz is one of them. I’m good friends with them. Asian Eatery in Selma. I don’t know if you’ve been there.

Jonathan Breeden: I have not. I have not.

Chris Creech: But they do pho. It’s his grandpa’s recipe. I’ve become good friends with him.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: Mr. Outrageous, of [00:14:00] course. Selma Hibachi, I don’t know if you know this, the one that you were.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah.

Chris Creech: Thinking of.

Jonathan Breeden: We were talking before we started recording, I said, “People keep telling me about these fries that you can get in this Selma gas station.” And you were like, “The Selma Mini Mart has now been converted into” you said it’s called Selma Hibachi?

Chris Creech: Selma Hibachi and Coffee, actually. And funny story, Asian Eatery, Alex and Anthony, Alex is brothers of the one that owns the Selma Hibachi and Coffee.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: And then, now what is it that they have? It’s like these loaded fries is sort of the calling thing at Selma Hibachi. I don’t know, like, it’s cheese and chili. What all do they put on them?

Chris Creech: So it’s hibachi style things, right? So you put your hibachi chicken, they sauce it, they put hibachi, green onions, all different kinds of stuff on it. It’s just a wild looking dish, right? It’s just a big dish full of everything you can think of. And another plug, talking about fries, is have you had Holey Fries food truck? He does,

Jonathan Breeden: I have had that. That’s very good … very good. Holey Fries food truck is very good.

Chris Creech: So he’s one of my favorites, too. He does, he, all he does [00:15:00] is fries, loaded fries with different things on them.

So I actually had him two nights ago. He was at the Johnston Leadership Academy in Smithfield.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: And I got the birria fries and they were excellent. The Big Mac fry, or the, the, what’s it called? The, the Mac- the Mac fries, like, his kinda Big Mac style fry, excellent. So I really recommend him as well.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh man, that’s great. That’s great. I know you’re really friends with a lot of the people in the food trucks. By the time this episode airs, your event at the Hinnant Wineries which I think is gonna be on August the 15th, will probably have already have passed. But do you plan to do food? It’s like, I mean, you’re gonna do a, like, a food truck rodeo and you’re gonna have bounce houses and stuff like that. You plan to do stuff like that in the future?

Chris Creech: I’d like to do it, like, once a year. I think next time I plan it, I’d plan it in a cooler time of year than August, but I think, like, the fall or spring. We’ve talked about doing more and but I shout out all my food trucks that are there. Sneed Boys, they do awesome, like, southern food/soul food. Awesome. Lil Reggie Cookies, which used to [00:16:00] be in Clayton near the GI Joes. Sunset Slush of Johnston County. We got Pinoy Barbecue, Waffy Station.

Have you ever been to Waffy Station? One I was telling you.

Jonathan Breeden: Waffy Station’s good. I’ve had Waffy Station, yes.

Chris Creech: Waffy Station, Exquisito. We got God, I don’t wanna miss nobody, but you get the gist. We got a bunch.

Jonathan Breeden: Right.

Chris Creech: Of people coming. Pine Street Grind, they have a that’s my favorite coffee spot. They’re gonna have a coffee trailer out there. So we got a good lineup and 28 vendors. Merrilee Farms, which has a huge following on Facebook and TikTok, is gonna be there.

Jonathan Breeden: So this is your first, you know, you’re gonna see how this goes. If this goes well, you will probably continue to do these sort of events.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: In the future. And that is to help promote the food trucks, help promote community, have a community event.

Chris Creech: Yes, sir.

Jonathan Breeden: Stuff like that, right?

Chris Creech: Yes, sir.

Jonathan Breeden: So where’d you get the idea?

Chris Creech: Of the food truck?

Jonathan Breeden: We just, I mean, to me, it looks like a food truck rodeo.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: I know, because you got all the food trucks there. I think that’s what’s gonna bring the people in.

Chris Creech: Yeah. I just got the idea ’cause I’ve gotten to know so many people over the past year of doing this, you know. I’ve like, so Sunset Slush, I used to work with the [00:17:00] owner of that, Adam. Sneed Boys, they invited me out one time, and several of these food trucks I’ve been, I’ve seen, and I have a good connection.

I thought it was a good way to bring the community together to see it in Johnston County. I don’t know that we have a huge, a huge food truck rodeo/vendor thing other than, like, a farmer’s market on the weekends, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. No, we really haven’t. I mean, they have the Downtown Food Truck Rodeos in Raleigh

Chris Creech: Yeah

Jonathan Breeden: on Fayetteville Street several times a year, and Durham also has

Chris Creech: Yeah

Jonathan Breeden: a big food truck rodeo type thing, and as does Cary, I think, every once in a while. So I’m glad we’re gonna, somebody like you is trying to organize

Chris Creech: Yeah

Jonathan Breeden: that, and looks like you’re gonna probably try to organize that sort of move it, moving toward, sort of into the future. So since you’re sort of expert on food and all this stuff, what are your favorite restaurants in Johnston County?

Chris Creech: My favorite? I guess the one-

Jonathan Breeden: I know you’re gonna hurt some people’s feelings, but just off the top of your head, what are some of your favorite restaurants?

Chris Creech: Favorite restaurants in Johnston County. Like I said, I, I, I frequent Kitchen of Oz. Off the top of my head, I don’t know. I, Holy Fries, like I said, they’re really good. [00:18:00] Right. A steak, let’s see. Do I … I’ll tell you one of my favorite steakhouses. It’s not in Johnston County, though.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: The Butcher’s Table. I’m actually going there tonight.

Jonathan Breeden: The Butcher’s Table, okay.

Chris Creech: They’re, they’re really good. In

Wilson, right?

No, The Butcher’s Table’s in Dunn.

It’s in Dunn. Okay, Dunn.

Yeah, it’s in Dunn. All right.

Jonathan Breeden: My bad.

Chris Creech: And, and I’ve actually become friends with the owners there.

Jonathan Breeden: Heath’s Steakhouse is in Dunn, too.

Chris Creech: I did Heath’s. Yeah. I just did it last week.

Jonathan Breeden: Heath’s is good.

Chris Creech: Heath’s is good. Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: It’s been there for a long time. The best part about Heath’s, I know it’s not in Johnston County, is it looks just like it did in the ’70s.

Chris Creech: Oh, really?

Jonathan Breeden: Like, like, like, it hasn’t changed. I went there all the time when I was in law school. You got the dark paneling, you got the old school the old school salad bar.

And it’s, it’s just great. It’s great. I’ll

Chris Creech: tell you another burger place I hadn’t mentioned, but Zach’s Char Grill in Smithfield.

Jonathan Breeden: Yes, very good.

Chris Creech: Their burgers are good. Cricket’s is good. Oh, another one that’s a different style restaurant that I really like is Curry Corner. Have you been there, the Indian restaurant?

Jonathan Breeden: I have not, but I’ve heard a lot of positive things about Curry Corner. Yeah. Where’s that at?

Chris Creech: It’s, it’s where the old Simple Twist used to be, right across from the courthouse. They have a, … Their butter chicken is the best I’ve ever had. [00:19:00] It’s excellent butter chicken, so, you know. It’s something different than a bur- I’ve been talking about burgers a lot- Yeah

you know, off the top of my head. I, I, I have a lot of outside, like Laughing Owl in Gar- Goldsboro, I love their menu ’cause they have a, some of the best sesame chicken I’ve ever had, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. All

Chris Creech: right. But yeah, Curry Corner’s excellent. And this Desi Tavern up here is a good, a- another good one, but Curry’s probably my favorite.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. And where’s Desi’s Tavern?

Chris Creech: It’s right, it’s right across the highway right there behind- Right here at

Jonathan Breeden: 40/42?

Chris Creech: Yeah, right there where right beside Cook Out, right in front of what’s that, Mulligan’s over there or something?

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah, Mul- Yeah, okay.

Chris Creech: There’s a, there’s a little Indian tavern right there.

Right beside Mia Moro Pizza.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Okay. But I, I did, I thought that was just a grocery store.

Chris Creech: No, it’s a, it’s a whole restaurant.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, I didn’t know that. Yeah. I should go in there okay. Yeah. Yeah. I, I knew they had some, they, they had, like, stuff you could buy. I, I, I didn’t realize it was a restaurant.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: I thought it was just an Indian grocery store.

Chris Creech: La Cocina’s another good one. I’ve gotten to be friends with the owner. And his, his birria, bir- his quesabirrias are very, very good, too, at La Cocina in Smithfield. And the new restaurant’s beautiful inside. I don’t know if y’all have been, so-

Jonathan Breeden: I have not-

if you haven’t- … but I know they [00:20:00] worked on it for a very long time. Yeah. So I know I’m excited that it’s there. I’ve not been there. I, I, I went before they remodeled it, maybe a couple years ago.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: So well, that’s great. Man, we’ve been g- dropping all kinds of great restaurants around here. Yeah. I, you know, I, I think about, when I think about my favorite restaurants, I, you know, I, I like The Clubhouse here at 40/42.

You know, sort of old school- Yeah … Cleveland Draft House. I, I enjoy going there. And y- you know, you know, you got, the bar- you know, got, got Redneck Barbecue Lab Oh

Chris Creech: yeah, he’s good.

Jonathan Breeden: with that. I mean, they’re, they’re excellent. Of course, they’re in North Hills now.

Chris Creech: Have you been to Heidi’s in Pine Level?

Jonathan Breeden: I have not been to Heidi’s- Oh, you gotta go to Heidi’s … in Pine Level, but I’ve heard… I, I, I don’t think I’ve been to Heidi’s.

Chris Creech: Heidi’s used to be in Smithfield, but she moved to Pine Level, but she does some really good food. And she cooks it all herself, so it’s gonna take some time, but it’s gonna be done with care at Heidi’s, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great. That’s great. I, I used to like to go to the you know, when I… My favorite thing was when the Meadow Grill would cater stuff. You know, I’ve only been down to Meadow to eat at the Meadow Grill a [00:21:00] couple times, but I’ve always been a big fan of the Meadow Grill and

Chris Creech: Yeah, yeah …

Jonathan Breeden: and the country cooking they do down there and stuff like that, so.

Chris Creech: What about Robin’s Nest?

Jonathan Breeden: I’ve not been to… I’ve been to Robin’s Nest once.

Chris Creech: Okay.

Jonathan Breeden: I went to a political fundraiser there probably 10 years ago.

Chris Creech: Oh, wow.

Jonathan Breeden: It was good. It was good, but I’ve only been to Robin’s Nest once.

Chris Creech: Yeah, Robin’s Nest is

Jonathan Breeden: good. And that’s in Smithfield, right?

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: Right.

Chris Creech: Robin’s Nest is in Selma.

It’s at the- It’s

Jonathan Breeden: Selma.

Chris Creech: Okay … it’s right there beside Olive Garden and-

Jonathan Breeden: Right, okay …

Chris Creech: Longhorn and all

Jonathan Breeden: that. Yeah, that all sort of goes there, all that together. And

Chris Creech: that’s also-

Jonathan Breeden: I don’t know where Smithfield starts and Selma. It all starts to run- It’s kinda- … together over there.

Chris Creech: That’s why they call it Smithfield Selma High School.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. That’s right. I mean, it’s, the two towns are right next to each other.

Chris Creech: Yeah.

Jonathan Breeden: so what’s, I mean, so, so what’s the future of this NC Food Creechers? I mean, where, where is this going?

Chris Creech: I think just continue to help businesses- One thing I didn’t see at first is just getting to know, like I’ve, I’ve mentioned a lot, I’ve gotten to know these owners and it’s been cool, and they tell me, “Hey man, people’s came in and talked about your videos and they appreciate it,” and it just makes me feel good that I’m helping somebody out, right?

So, [00:22:00] you know, it’s not really about the monetization or anything of it, it’s just like now I’m p- like I can go out to… It’s crazy. I’m not famous by any means, but like I can go out and people want pictures with me or… I went through to Culver’s when it opened and, and a kid, when I, I went and got ice cream the first night and he was like, “Hey man, will you sign my cup?”

I said, “I’m not famous, but yeah, sure. I’ll sign your cup.” So, and then I went there the next day and a guy wanted a picture with me, and I’ve had that once or twice. I’m like, man, this is, this is weird. Like people, people recognize me when I go out. I’m like, oh man. I mean, I’m nobody. I’m just promoting businesses.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great though.

Chris Creech: That’s

Jonathan Breeden: great. No, I mean, no, and look, it, look, I mean, you know, you get a lot more views than I get with the Best of Johnston County podcast. And we get a, we get, we get a few views too, and I go out places and people will come up and say, I, I was at Jersey Mike’s the other day, and they’re like, “You’re the one with the podcast.”

You know, like, I, I’ve always used to being a divorce lawyer, which is good or bad, you know what I mean? But, but somebody at Jersey Mike’s was like, “You got a podcast. I saw your podcast.” And I, I just smile, right? Because like- Yeah … I’d rather do the podcast than do [00:23:00] anything, you know what I mean? Yeah. I lo- it’s the, it’s the most fun thing I do now.

It’s, Yeah … I enjoy practicing law, but I really enjoy doing the podcast.

Chris Creech: Plus the group conversations with people, meeting people. That’s what’s good about Johnston County. It’s a great sense of community. It’s a small town. S- right now it’s a small town. It’s growing, but-

Jonathan Breeden: Oh,

Chris Creech: it’s

Jonathan Breeden: growing … like

Chris Creech: that’s, that’s, I mean, when, I remember when Walmart wasn’t there when I was in high school and there was nothing around here, and it’s growing, but it’s still the same sense of community, right?

The same people and friendly, friendly group of people in Johnston County. I enjoy it. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great. There’s no doubt about it. No doubt. So how people, how can people find your content, reach out to you if they want you to come visit their re- their restaurant?

Chris Creech: Yeah, just reach out to me.

I’ll answer, I, I answer my mes- messages on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram. That’s mainly how you can- Right … get up with me.

Jonathan Breeden: So on, on Facebook it’s still Chris Creech.

Chris Creech: Chris Creech.

Jonathan Breeden: And then on the others it’s NC Food Creechers.

Chris Creech: NC Food Creechers, yes, sir.

Jonathan Breeden: And that’s spelled C-R, I’m gonna guess, ’cause your name is Creech, C-R-E-E-C-H.

Chris Creech: E-R-S [00:24:00]

Jonathan Breeden: ERS.

Chris Creech: Yeah. Okay. I did the S ’cause my wife’s part of it, too, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Chris Creech: So she, I like… She’s in the video some, so we’re the Creechers, not the Creature, so.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, okay. I got

Chris Creech: you. I got you. I didn’t wanna single her out, right?

Jonathan Breeden: I got you. I got you. Well, the last question we ask everybody on this podcast, what do you love most about Johnston County?

Chris Creech: I just ans- I think I just answered that a little bit, but I’ll go to more. You know, there’s a lot of, lot of good things in Johnston County. I think it’s a beautiful area. There’s still some country out here. I like living, I live in Kenly in the country. I don’t have to be in the busines- busyness of Raleigh or a big city, but you can get places fast, right?

You got 95, 40 that go through Johnston County, so it’s just a great area. Nice people, great sense of community.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that’s great. That’s great. Well, we’d like to thank Chris Creech, the founder of NC Food Creechers, for being our guest on this week’s episode of the Best of Johnston County podcast. Go and find his…

Go, I, I promise you, you, you will be entertained by his content. That’s how I found him and asked him to come on and be on this podcast. It, it is educational. I learn something [00:25:00] almost every time he puts something up. So go give him a follow, a like, and message him if you hear of any restaurants that are coming, or tell him about some of your favorite dishes, and he can maybe go by and visit and try them out, and maybe feature them on one of his videos that are getting just thousands and thousands and thousands of views.

And that’s what he’s out here doing, just like we’re trying to do, which is promoting what is positive about small business and restaurants in Johnston County. As I mentioned before, please like, follow, subscribe to this podcast wherever you see it, whether it be on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, TikTok, X, LinkedIn, or any of the other social media channels, the Best of Johnston County podcast.

Best of Johnston County pod- Just of Johnston County podcast comes every single Monday, and has now for close to three years. If you’d be so kind as to give us a five-star review down below, and tag us in your Instagram stories, Best of Johnston County, it will help us get our visibility out so that we can continue to tell the story of Johnston County and all the great people in it to more and more people just like you, who listen every week.

Until next time, I’m your [00:26:00] host, Jonathan Breeden.

That’s the end of today’s episode of Best of Johnston County, a show brought to you by the trusted team at Breeden Law Office. We thank you for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more interesting facets of this community next week. Every story, every viewpoint adds another thread to the rich tapestry of Johnston County.

If the legal aspects highlighted raised some questions, help is just around the corner at www. breedenfirm. com.