Erica Thomas is a force of nature who has worked hard to uplift the hospitality industry and has become a trusted source for recipes and recommendations for hardworking women who want to have it all. She launched her blog, Eating with Erica, in 2013 to cover the food scene of Atlanta, Georgia, and it has now become a go-to resource for locals and tourists to get recipes, restaurant recommendations, entertaining tips, and other lifestyle content.
Erica has always been passionate about food and has utilized her background in corporate marketing and influencer marketing to turn Eating with Erica into the powerhouse brand it is today. We caught up with Erica to learn how her journey began and get the background on her much sought-after supper clubs, which are expanding from Atlanta and Charleston, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, this September.
When did your love of cooking begin? Well, as a child, my mother was a very big cook. But on the weekend, we would have to figure it out ourselves. We would typically dine out as a family, and we had a very robust palate at a very young age. My mom would never let us order the same thing on the menu. I’ve always had a passion for cooking with my mom and my aunt and family in the kitchen, but also having date nights with my dad to understand how to dine and order food and support local businesses.
What made you want to start your blog? When I initially started my blog, it was literally just from pure love of dining out—I’ve always loved dining out. And I realized that there were so many amazing restaurants that I would refer to as “hidden gems,” and early in my career, I was like, “I’m going to do a website, and I’m just going to highlight these amazing business owners, and it’s going to be great.” My boss at the time was like, “This is a stupid idea, and it’s not going to work,” and that’s the best way to get me fired up to do something. And it’s been a really amazing experience—the people that I’ve met, the restaurants that I’ve been able to showcase, and just the support that I’ve been able to give to local businesses.
Can you tell us a little bit about the supper clubs you host? So, I initially started my first supper club in 2017, and it was just 10 of us, and we would meet up at a restaurant, and it was not the level of production that we have now. I wanted to make it more of an elevated experience and an exclusive network for women to enjoy authentic conversation and genuine connection. One thing I love most about the supper clubs is we’re able to say, like, we’re actually putting dollars back into our hospitality economy and really supporting these chefs and really supporting these restaurateurs by opening our wallets and making sure that we’re doing our part to keep their doors open.
