May 2025

[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm Bill Woodard and welcome to the Chamber Corner. We're at the Sparta Greek Grill in Rock City, Tennessee, and we've got a good show for you, so you stay tuned. Well, we're here at the Sparta Greek Grill, and this is a. I don't know. Have you ever ate here before? [00:00:45] Speaker B: I have not. [00:00:45] Speaker C: This is my first time in here. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Well, before I start all that, I need to have them have you introduce yourself. So tell them who you are and who you're with. [00:00:53] Speaker C: All right. My name is April Law, and I'm with the Smith County Fine Arts Center Theater here in Carthage, Tennessee. [00:00:59] Speaker A: Okay. Now, April, going back to the restaurant. It is a really great place to eat and we're going to be talking to the owners here in a little bit. [00:01:05] Speaker C: But it smells wonderful in here. [00:01:07] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Hey, it is a great place. Anyway, let's talk about what's going on with arts here in Smith County. I know you recently had a dinner over at the Patriot Center. Is that right? [00:01:18] Speaker C: Yes. This past Saturday, May 2nd, we had a event at the Patriot Event Center. We had singing with live music. We had River City Dream in there. Cameron Kinslow, Dante Morari, and Samantha Gentry. They came and performed for us. We had some wonderful food. We had a great turnout. We had so many donations from local businesses. They donated for us to do giveaways that night. We are so thankful for our sponsors that night. I think everybody really enjoyed it. We were able to do a silent auction and raise some money for the theater as well, which is great. [00:01:57] Speaker A: Okay, well, the reason you were doing this is you guys are going to do a production here maybe later on in the summer. Is that something you could talk about? [00:02:04] Speaker D: Yes. [00:02:04] Speaker C: In the fall, we are going to do a production. We are going to have it at the Pleasant Shade Community center in Pleasant Shade. They have offered to rent the building out for us for two weeks. We do not know what show we are doing yet, so everybody stay tuned for that. Follow us on our Facebook page. And we will be announcing what our show is, when auditions will be, and it is for everyone in the community. We want all the community participation that we can get. [00:02:33] Speaker A: So if you're from a baby to my age. [00:02:37] Speaker C: Yes. Whenever we do decide what show we're going to do, we will say do a casting call. Casting call, pretty much, so to speak. What ages we're looking for that type thing. [00:02:50] Speaker A: Okay. So Facebook. Is it Smith County Fine Arts? [00:02:54] Speaker C: Yes, it's Smith County Fine Arts Center Theater. [00:02:57] Speaker A: Okay. And I know you guys at one time, you Were doing a lot of stuff in the courthouse, and of course, they're remodeling the courthouse, and all of that has changed. So I know you guys are kind of looking for a home. Pleasant Shade is going to be a good place to do productions, and I'm sure there's other places around that you probably will land before you get a permanent home. [00:03:17] Speaker C: Yes, we. We have been looking high and low for a place. So it was a blow to us whenever we was not able to do productions at the courthouse anymore. We had lost our director, Mr. Bill Reese, of course. And then right after that, we lost our spot at the courthouse. So it took a blow to us. And, yes, we've been out of production for the past two years, but we are getting back in, and I'm hoping that we are going to be bigger and stronger than ever. [00:03:42] Speaker A: Well, I hope so, too. With that said, Bill was a great friend of mine, and he was a wonderful influence on arts and in this community, in the schools and outside of the schools. So we really miss him. But I'm glad you guys are carrying this on. This is kind of a legacy for him. [00:04:01] Speaker C: Yes, of course. He was my uncle. We were very close. I loved working with him. In his lifetime, his span of doing shows, he done about a little over 25 productions for Smith County. [00:04:14] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:04:16] Speaker C: That was including the ones at the high school. [00:04:17] Speaker A: When I was there, I had the privilege of being in a few of them, and it was great to work. [00:04:21] Speaker B: Yes. [00:04:21] Speaker C: We actually got to work together. [00:04:23] Speaker A: It's a lot of fun. If you're out there and you're thinking about you want to be involved in theater, you should contact these guys. How would they get in touch with you? [00:04:31] Speaker C: They can message us through our Facebook page if they want to, or they can message me directly on Facebook. April Law, you can find me on Facebook or anybody that's on the committee. Our community committee members are Jeffrey Grissom, Crystal McCall, Kesha Butler, and Evelyn Lawson, and of course, myself, April Law. [00:04:47] Speaker A: Okay, well, guys, if you're interested in theater, you need to get in touch with these guys because they're going to do productions around here and they've been around a long time and going to be here a lot longer. So, April, thanks for coming by. [00:04:59] Speaker C: Thank you so much for having me. [00:05:00] Speaker A: All right. Okay. We're here at Sparta Greek Grill, and I know this is a place you've ate at before, and you can recommend the food, right? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell them who you are and who you with. [00:05:11] Speaker E: Ray Histon. With Rosie's Adventures. We do inflatables, got photo booths. We have, working on a party tent. Just started this year. Trying to do something different in life. [00:05:27] Speaker A: Well, and that was the president and CEO that just ran up here, right? [00:05:30] Speaker E: Yeah, she's my boss. She tells me what to do. [00:05:33] Speaker A: Yeah, there you go. Well, tell me this, Rosie Adventures, you're gonna be able to rent and, and put out inflatables for any kind of a party or what? What's your vision for that? [00:05:45] Speaker E: Yeah, we just, we do birthday parties, like big events, any kind of venues. I actually booked a wedding with inflatables yesterday. [00:05:58] Speaker A: Is that right? That, that's, that's interesting. I would have never thought about doing that for that. [00:06:03] Speaker E: Yeah, she told me she want to be different, so, yeah, she got inflatables. [00:06:07] Speaker A: Well, now, how many do you have? You got 1, 2, 3, 4. [00:06:10] Speaker E: We got 6 right now. I'm actually picking up one today, so I have seven. [00:06:15] Speaker A: Okay. All right. And what area do you cover? [00:06:19] Speaker E: I do Wilson Rutherford, Smith County, DeKalb County. I pretty much go anywhere. [00:06:26] Speaker A: Okay, well, I know this TV show. It goes all the way into Woodbury. So that's going to be a lot of coverage to some of the folks that you'll be able to service. So that's good. Well, now, if they wanted to rent or get in touch with you, how do they do that? [00:06:41] Speaker E: They can. We got a Facebook page, Rosie's Adventures. They can message us on Facebook or call 615-603-5454. Okay, that goes to my wife's phone number. She can pick up, schedule, everything. We have a email address, Rosies Adventures gmail.com. [00:07:05] Speaker A: okay. And so, and you're basically any time of the week, or you can book for weekends, wherever they need that, seven days a week. Okay. All right, well, really, thank you for coming by and appreciate you being a member of the Chamber of Commerce. And you know, folks, if you're looking for something that you're going to have a party and you need some inflatables, these are the folks to call, give them that phone number one more time. [00:07:32] Speaker E: It'd be 615-603-5454. [00:07:35] Speaker A: All right, thanks for coming. [00:07:37] Speaker E: Thank you. [00:07:38] Speaker A: All right, we are still here at the Sparta Greek Grill. And I think, Pam, you just live down the road. [00:07:43] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, yeah. [00:07:45] Speaker A: So you've probably ate here. [00:07:46] Speaker D: Oh, yes, yes. Good place. [00:07:48] Speaker A: Yes, it is very good place. These guys do a good job. I discovered them about a year. No, actually longer than that ago before they did the Remodel Yeah, yeah, yeah. They've had to expand the restaurant. Yeah, yeah. So. So, anyway, tell them who you are and who you with. [00:08:04] Speaker D: Well, I'm Pam Billington, and I'm with the Smith County Heritage Museum. And this location is just great because I can talk all day about this. This location's connection with the museum. We're thankful that they allowed you to come here and film the show today. [00:08:21] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:08:22] Speaker D: And this sits. This location is right here in some of the historic areas of Smith county that we have at the museum. We have the Rome ferry. We have a display about the Rome Ferry, and we also have a display about Samson's mineral wells, which was just down the road. Yeah, yeah. So we're. And even the people that are into the Civil War history, they would know that John Hunt Morgan came to Rome and crossed the river down here in a hurry. In a hurry. That's right. And left his black horse bass. He left. [00:08:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I understand. Best became a Union. [00:09:00] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:09:00] Speaker A: Soldier. [00:09:02] Speaker C: So. [00:09:03] Speaker D: But this is definitely full of history right through here. So come and eat lunch and then tour the area and, you know, check out that. But they can come to the museum and see the displays that we have there at the museum. [00:09:19] Speaker A: Well, in the old sign, it used to be the Rock City Cafe. I noticed it's still up out there, and it's not in too good a shape, but it's still up. [00:09:26] Speaker D: It's still up. Yeah, it is. [00:09:28] Speaker A: Yeah. So Rock City was a Hamptonin place. [00:09:31] Speaker D: It was, yeah. Exactly. Exactly. [00:09:33] Speaker A: Well, and hopefully with the great grill, and I understand there's a Mexican restaurant going to open up. [00:09:38] Speaker D: Yeah, so we hear. [00:09:40] Speaker A: So it may be coming back. [00:09:41] Speaker D: It's coming back. That's right. Well, and then right now at the museum, we are the proud owners of a new display that was granted to us from the Carl Phillips family. Mr. Phillips lived in Pleasant, not Pleasant Shade Brush Creek, and his family has donated all his. Well, maybe not all, but a lot of his belongings from World War II. And it is a very interesting display that they have given us. And so we were excited to have that for. For display this past weekend when it was Maneuvers day. [00:10:19] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. And talk briefly about that. I know it's already happened, but, you know, Tressa will have that again next year, I'm sure. I'm sure she will talk a little bit about that. I know the museum was involved. [00:10:31] Speaker D: The museum hosted lots of her disc plays that she has from people around this area who have acquired memorabilia from that time when the maneuvers were here in this area. And they were definitely here in this area where the Sparta Greek Grill sits. This was a big, big maneuvers area. So yes, staging area. So she had several displays in there. So we know that a lot of people came Saturday and toured the, the display, toured the museum and enjoyed, had a beautiful day there on, on the square in Carthage. [00:11:10] Speaker A: Right. And next year it'll be in May for the first. [00:11:14] Speaker D: Yeah, first weekend probably. [00:11:16] Speaker A: It's always, always takes place there near the courthouse or on the courthouse grounds. So I'm sure she'll do that next year. That's going to be. It's always a good event. If you didn't get to go this year, you should go right. And, and check that out. And of course you've got maneuvers memories, displays. [00:11:33] Speaker D: Right. And year round, the Carl Phillips family gave us some of the artifacts that Mr. Phillips brought back from Germany when he served over there. And he, you know, was in that area where General Patton was. So he had served and done some pretty important things. And they have donated those to the museum. Some very interesting artifacts. So come by and see them. They are truly interesting. [00:12:02] Speaker A: Well, now, that museum, you have hours. When are you open? [00:12:06] Speaker D: We're open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 until 2. [00:12:11] Speaker A: Okay. And so that gets you on the weekend or during the week if you're vacationing. [00:12:15] Speaker D: Right. [00:12:16] Speaker A: We met a couple here at the Sparta Grill. We came in to talk to them about the show and there were some folks here from Iowa and they were spending the week in Smith county vacationing and we of course sent them to the museum and there was several other things that we told them about here. But don't you find that interesting that people from Iowa are coming to spend [00:12:43] Speaker D: the week in the week in Smith County? That is interesting. And Bill, we have one more event in the museum this month and that is on Armed Forces day, which is May 16. We are going to have a speaker there at the museum Command Sergeant Major William Charles Gregory Jr. And he's better known around here as Chuck. He grew up here in the Rome area, went to school. I even had the privilege of being his teacher. And he is coming back to speak on Saturday 16th May at 11 o' clock at the museum. [00:13:26] Speaker A: Okay, that's going to be a wonderful event. [00:13:28] Speaker D: Yeah, it will be. [00:13:30] Speaker A: And that's not a ticketed event. [00:13:33] Speaker D: No, everybody's welcome. Please come. And maybe some of his old classmates will attend and see him because he has been gone from this area since when he joined the Army. You know, he naturally left this area, but his family still lives Here, and he does come for visits. So he's going to be here Satur, on Saturday, 16 May. [00:13:56] Speaker A: That's wonderful. If someone wants to be involved in the museum, you know, we have a board, of course, but there's a membership roster. And if they wanted to join the museum, how did they go about doing that? [00:14:08] Speaker D: Well, they can contact the museum at 735-1104 and talk to Ashina, who is the manager of the museum, and she will give you some information on how many, you know, you can pay, like different amounts to different levels of membership there at the museum. But now the entran entrance to the museum is free. There's never a charge for. For touring the museum. [00:14:36] Speaker A: Right. And. And I know we have a lot of visitors that people that had ancestry in the county and they. They come and walk through or go to. [00:14:45] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:14:45] Speaker D: And we even have a few research books there to help if you're looking for your family tree and maybe trying to find some. If some. Some family tree history, you might find it even at the museum. [00:14:58] Speaker A: Yes, we do have several of us. There seems to be a connection. They'll go to the library, go through the archives, they come to the museum and back and forth. So I've noticed that. [00:15:08] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:15:09] Speaker A: Okay. Well, Pam, is there anything else? [00:15:11] Speaker D: Well, I guess not, but you have picked an area that was well represented. This location in the county is well represented at the museum with the mineral wells display and the Rome Ferry display. [00:15:26] Speaker A: When I was a child, which was a day or two ago. [00:15:28] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. [00:15:29] Speaker A: I remember coming to the Sampson's Mineral Wells and he had a store there. And of course they had the wells operating and it was pretty interesting. Had the little bungalows in the back that people would stay. [00:15:45] Speaker D: Exactly. [00:15:46] Speaker A: And they used to. At early on they did medical things. [00:15:51] Speaker D: Yeah, there was a doctor that lived there, I think, and there. That was also an area for a softball ball games. A lot of community ball games were held there in. On that land. So softball in the summertime was a big popular thing out there at the Sulfur Whales. We just called it the Sulfur Whales. We didn't call it Sampson's Mineral Well. [00:16:14] Speaker A: And you know, when you came by, you knew you were near it. [00:16:18] Speaker D: Yeah, oh yeah, definitely. [00:16:20] Speaker A: Definitely had that soft sulfurous odor. [00:16:23] Speaker C: That's right. [00:16:24] Speaker A: Well, Pam, thanks for coming by. Once again, just tell them about how they get in touch with the museum or how they can contact you. [00:16:30] Speaker D: Right. Well, the museum is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am till 2pm you can call the museum at 615-735-1104 and maybe talk with the manager there and she can maybe answer some of your questions. [00:16:49] Speaker A: Okay. Well, Pam, thanks for coming back. [00:16:51] Speaker D: Oh, thank you for inviting me. [00:16:52] Speaker A: Always a pleasure. And it's good to be in Rock City. [00:16:56] Speaker D: Rock City. That's right. That's right. [00:16:59] Speaker A: Well, Ashley, thank you for coming down and being with us. First off, tell them who you are and who you're with. [00:17:04] Speaker B: So, I'm Ashley Webster. I'm with the US Army Corps of Engineers at Courtau Hall Lake, and I'm a park ranger. [00:17:10] Speaker A: Okay. And, Ashley, we're here at the Sparta Greek Grill. Have you ever had the privilege of being here before? [00:17:16] Speaker B: I have wonderful food I recommend. [00:17:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I do, too. I tell you, it's a great place. Great place to eat. Now the summer starting. I know the corps, you guys really ramp up when the season starts. And I think we're at the beginning, or maybe we've already passed the beginning. You want to tell us about what's going on? [00:17:36] Speaker B: Yeah. So we're definitely on the cusp of our busiest time of year, but we are busy now. Salt Lick Creek Campground in Jackson county and Defita Creek Campground in Smith county are open just about every weekend. They have high occupancy, very popular campgrounds. Our recreation areas are actually getting some people out there and people are swimming. So we've put out our life jacket loanerboard life jackets. That way if you forget your life jacket when you come to the beach or get out on the boat, you can borrow one and then return it. [00:18:06] Speaker A: Wow. And they're already swimming in this weather? Yes, because it's like 60 degrees today. [00:18:11] Speaker B: It's a little chilly. You're not going to catch me swimming. [00:18:13] Speaker A: Yeah, not me either. Well, that is really good. And a lot of people don't realize this, even people in the county. You've got a wonderful welcome center sitting over there near the dam, right? [00:18:23] Speaker B: Yes. So we have a. I want to call it a state of the art visitor center welcome center. It's got a live fish tank. We've got water safety displays, display on archaeological resources and rocks pollinator display. It's just a pretty neat interactive kiosk. I definitely recommend bring the family out, especially if the weather's great. And while you're there, you can hike the Turkey Creek Nature Trail, which is behind the office. So. And if you want to go sightseeing a little more, you can just drive down the road when we're no longer doing bluff work and you can take a look at the Dam and lock from a distance. [00:19:00] Speaker A: Yeah. And of course, they fish right there in that channel. [00:19:04] Speaker B: Yes. [00:19:04] Speaker A: If you've got a boat, you can fish in that. And then there is also a park across the street from you guys. [00:19:10] Speaker B: Yes, there's a beautiful park right across the street. As you hit on it, Billy, you can typically fish right there below the dam. But right now, with the bluff work, it is closed. But you can launch a boat at that recreation area. It's got a fish cleaning station, volleyball court, walking track, reservable shelter. So it's beautiful. It's just right there across from our office. So you can kind of make a day of it, bring the kids, put them on the playground. [00:19:35] Speaker A: Well, and you mentioned trails. That's not the only trail we got. [00:19:39] Speaker B: No. So we have several walking tracks. We have a walking track, of course, at the Tailwater as we're talking about. We have one at Defeated Creek and then one at Roaring River. But we have actual hiking trails and horseback riding trails. Across the lake in Smith county, we have the Bearwaller Gap Trail. And then we have a nine mile bike trail called Bear Wheels. And then we have the Periwinkle, which is right on the edge of Smith and Jackson county. And same with the Hollomans Bend horseback riding trail. So we have a lot of trails, a lot of walking tracks. Great opportunity to get outdoors. [00:20:13] Speaker A: Now, I've never quite understood this and probably won't in the future, but we have a lot of boat ramps that are here on the rivers and lakes, and some of them are TWRA and some of them are core. [00:20:26] Speaker B: Yes. [00:20:26] Speaker A: And I think the ones on the Caney Fork and the Cumberland, they are core. Is that right? [00:20:33] Speaker B: So it just depends if they're on the lake, for example, Cordall Hall. So specifically, they're all Corps of Engineer boat ramps. If they're on the Caney, they could be a Corps of Engineer boat ramp as well as a TWRA boat ramp. So a lot of that's just dictated by who built the boat ramp and wanted it put in. [00:20:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. And the one in Carthage, there's a really nice boat ramp there that goes into the Cumberland river just before you get to the bridge, if you're floating the river. And now that's a core facility. [00:21:02] Speaker B: It is, yes. [00:21:03] Speaker A: Okay. All right, is there anything coming up that we need to know about, like a fishing rodeo or something? [00:21:10] Speaker B: Okay. So right now we do tentatively have a fishing rodeo scheduled in June that's looking like it's going to be in Roaring River. So that is in Jackson County. But we do have two other special items coming up. This one once again, sorry Billy is in Jackson, but it's right over the line. So can I talk about it? [00:21:29] Speaker A: You sure can. [00:21:30] Speaker B: Okay, so on June 12th we have a ribbon cutting for a fishing pier and courtesy dock for boats. It's going to be at Veterans Park. So there's a brand new pier put in. And that's been a great collaboration amongst several different agencies. You can check out more information on that on our Facebook page. But in Smith County. I'll go back to Smith. We actually have a ribbon cutting the next day, June 13, at the Walking track at Defeated. So there's that walking track that goes around the big shelter at Defeated Creek rec area. We have a brand new storybook trail and what's awesome about that is it gets kids outdoors, gets them reading. And that's the third one that we have been able to put on Courtau hall thanks to state funding, our friends of Courtehall Lake and agency funding. [00:22:17] Speaker A: Well you mentioned friends at Courtau Hall Lake. Talk about them just a little bit. [00:22:21] Speaker B: So they are a non profit. They started several years ago. It was just a group of volunteers who were putting in the Periwinkle Trail. We were to supposed supporting them, helping them. And from there it blossomed into let's start a friends group. So we, we have a friends group. We have a great board because of them we're able to do cleanups across the lake. We rotate around the lake. So this fall we'll actually have a cleanup probably in the Defeated Creek area. So we're rotating back into Smith county and they just support us on events and adding to our facilities. They've invested some money in washers and dryers, benches, bike maintenance stations. So they definitely are able to supp where we need some extra things purchased and installed. So they add to the recreation experience. [00:23:08] Speaker A: Yeah. And if you're out there and you want to volunteer and maybe help with the waterways around here and be involved in this, you can join friends at Cordell Hall Lake. And it's a really stiff fee. I think it's like four bucks. [00:23:21] Speaker B: Five dollars. Billy. [00:23:22] Speaker A: Five dollars. [00:23:22] Speaker B: Five dollars. [00:23:23] Speaker A: Five dollars to become a member of that. And you can be involved in what's going on around here and help. [00:23:28] Speaker B: Yes, you can help. Like, like we said there's cleanups, there's been work days on trails. So it's a great organization. And if you want to join, reach out. Call our office at 615-735-1034 or you can go On Facebook, look up friends of Courtault Lake or just Google them and you can sign up that way. [00:23:49] Speaker A: Okay. And Ashley, is there anything we missed for. [00:23:53] Speaker B: No, Just want to make sure everyone's out safe this summer. Make sure you wear your life jacket. So swim with a buddy and just know your limits, whether you're in the water or you're out on a boat. [00:24:03] Speaker A: Okay. Well, it's always a pleasure to have you. [00:24:05] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:24:05] Speaker A: And we'll get you back again here as the summer goes on because there's a lot more things happening, right? [00:24:10] Speaker B: Yes. We're always busy and we always have something going on. [00:24:14] Speaker A: Okay. Thanks for coming by. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Thank you, Billy. [00:24:17] Speaker A: We're here at the Sparta Greek Grill, and I have to say, I've ate here a lot. I've been coming here for several years, and it is a great place to eat. I want to get that out front anyway. Introduce yourself, tell them who you are, and of course, you're with Sparta Greek Grill. [00:24:32] Speaker F: Yeah. I'm Carola Sabid, representing Sparta Greek Grill, the owner's son. I'm here typically as a manager most of the time. [00:24:40] Speaker A: And, well, one thing that I notice when I come in here, frankly, it's been probably 10 or 12 years ago. You were open that long ago, right? [00:24:53] Speaker F: Maybe around that time. A little shorter, though. [00:24:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, I remember a long time ago. I came in. It's the first time I'd really experienced gyro. [00:25:03] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:25:04] Speaker A: And I ate one of those and it was so good. I've been coming back ever since. [00:25:09] Speaker F: I'm glad to hear that. [00:25:10] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of people around here really love this place. In fact, they travel pretty far to get here. What. What is your menu offering? What's your biggest seller, and what do you guys offer here? [00:25:24] Speaker F: So pretty much our biggest seller is the Euros. Those are the top ones. That's. What's the. The store name is after. And then after that, we got some really nice burgers, and a lot of people love the fish. We have really nice fried fish. A lot of people love to fish around here. [00:25:37] Speaker A: Okay, and is the Euros the biggest seller or is it kind of a mix? [00:25:43] Speaker F: Oh, it's a mix of everything. You know, sometimes I would come in here. That's why we have a big variety of on the menu. Sometimes we'll sell the euro, sometimes we'll the burgers and fish right after. And pizza as well. Yeah, it's a little bit of everything. [00:25:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I know you got the menu across the top there. And of course you can make A choice you can pick by number. Really? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's a good thing with that notice that you had remodeled. I know this place was a lot smaller, seemed like than it used to or it was before, and now you've remodeled it. When did you do that? [00:26:15] Speaker F: We did this about three months ago. You know, thought we might need. Summer's coming up. We might need a place to sit outside. You know, not everybody likes to sit inside. It's better to sit outside, especially in a good weather. [00:26:26] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Well, today it's a little cool today, but it's still a good day to sit outside. I know when we first got here, you had some folks that were sitting out there eating, even though it's what, 65 degrees, so it's still pretty nice. Well, you guys moved in here. I know you. You came from Egypt, Is that right? [00:26:48] Speaker F: Egypt. [00:26:48] Speaker A: Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that. It's in. In my. When I think of Egypt, I think of the pyramids. [00:26:56] Speaker F: Oh, yeah, Yeah. I mean, Egypt, it's still pyramids and everything, but it's grown as a country. Very, very huge country now. It's growing. It's very beautiful. [00:27:05] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:27:06] Speaker F: Very nice country. [00:27:07] Speaker A: Well, and I've never had the privilege of going, but I've read a lot about it, and it's really, well, hey, cradle of civilization, so to speak. [00:27:16] Speaker F: Oh, yeah. Great history in the country. [00:27:19] Speaker A: Yeah, no doubt about that. Well, we're glad you chose to come here. And of course, you brought this style of cooking. Is this the style that you see in Egypt? [00:27:33] Speaker F: Similar. You know, Egypt, actually the year the Greek food, Euros, is mostly from Greek and Turkey. We just. We inherited that from them. We're all in the Middle east, you know, so we inherit that food from them as well. So typically from Greek. I know. Actually, it started out in Turkey. Not a lot of people know this, but Greek food started out in Turkey. [00:27:51] Speaker G: Really? [00:27:51] Speaker F: To Greek. And that's when it went famous. Yeah, Euros are. It's a Turkish food. [00:27:56] Speaker A: Well, and I always like the number one. And of course, that's lamb. [00:27:59] Speaker F: Oh, yes, sir. Number one is lamb. [00:28:01] Speaker A: Well, I took it. I got a dish to go one time and I took it somewhere and they said, hey, what are you eating? It looks like beef. And I said, well, no, it's lamb. And some people that take some aback, but once you taste is so good. [00:28:14] Speaker F: Oh, yeah. The seasoning on it. It's wonderful. [00:28:17] Speaker A: Yeah, it is. And I love the way you guys cook the rice. So that's a good thing. Well, if somebody Wants to do takeout or they want to order. How do they get in touch with you guys? [00:28:27] Speaker F: If they want to order, they could always give us a call, pre order the food, and once they come in, they just, you know, stop by, pick it up. That's it. And then we also have online orders on Menufy. That's Sparta Greek Grill. That's the name of the restaurant, Menufy. And either they could come in and dine in. [00:28:44] Speaker A: Okay. And of course, you're members of the Chamber of commerce, so if you need information about that and you can't remember anything else, you can call us at the chamber and we can give you all the information, or you can go on our website and it'll lead you to the Spartac Greek Grill. And you guys do a great job here. So really, thank you for being in the county, and thank you for bringing this wonderful cuisine to our area. [00:29:07] Speaker F: Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you for having me. [00:29:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:29:09] Speaker F: Yes, sir. [00:29:11] Speaker A: We asked Corrales to stick around a little bit. There's also another business that's associated with you guys, your brother Mina. [00:29:17] Speaker F: Yes, sir. [00:29:17] Speaker A: He operates that here in Smith county, and it's basically trash pickup. Is that right? [00:29:23] Speaker F: Oh, yes, sir. [00:29:26] Speaker A: How far area does he cover in Smith County? [00:29:29] Speaker F: Anything in Smith county, however far it is, he'll come pick it up from you. [00:29:33] Speaker A: I know. I signed up for it. He came by the Chamber of Commerce and joined, and he said that's what he's going to do, and I signed up immediately for that. And he comes by the house. He comes by our place every Tuesday, I believe that's right. So they probably have certain areas that they hit every day of the week. Is that right? [00:29:50] Speaker F: No, honestly, all the pickups are all done Tuesday, unless if he has to push it till Wednesday. [00:29:55] Speaker A: Okay. [00:29:56] Speaker F: Mostly on Tuesdays. [00:29:58] Speaker A: All right. And they provide the receptacle. He brought a receptacle there, and he picks the trash up, and it's. It's kind of nice. You just throw it out there, and every Tuesday it disappears. That's kind of nice. How do they get in touch with him if they want to sign up for the service? [00:30:12] Speaker F: So if they want to touch with him, his personal phone number is 615-972-6042. And just pretty much give him a call or text him. Shoot him a text. He'll send you all the information. On email. Payment wise, is also on email. You could set it up as autopay. He'll send you up an auto payroll and you automatically pay. Or he could send you an Email reminder. Every month. Only once a month. Email reminder. I think if I recall correctly, the price is 40 bucks. [00:30:39] Speaker A: $44 a month. [00:30:41] Speaker F: Oh, yes, sir. [00:30:42] Speaker A: And that's well worth it. [00:30:43] Speaker F: Oh, yeah. $44 a month, once a week. Trash disappears on Tuesdays. [00:30:48] Speaker A: Yeah, that's right. And so if you guys want to know about that, remember that number or call us at the chamber. They're members, and we can give you all the information about that. But it's a wonderful service here in Smith county, and if you don't live in an area where they already do trash pickup, it's really convenient. So, Carlos, thank you. And I'm sure many will appreciate you. You talking about his business. [00:31:08] Speaker F: Thank you. [00:31:10] Speaker A: All right, we're here still at the Sparta Greek Grill. I want to ask you a question. Have you ever been here before? [00:31:15] Speaker G: Plenty of times. I come here a lot, especially when I'm working in the area. I'll come get a pizza or, you know, whatever. I'm feeling the baklava. That's my favorite. [00:31:23] Speaker A: Yes. [00:31:25] Speaker G: He often don't tell anybody. He'll throw one in for me sometimes, but he's. Man, they're great. [00:31:29] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, we keep that secret. They've actually done that for me a couple of times. It is really good. I like all the food here. The gyros are something that I really like. [00:31:40] Speaker G: I'm not a big sandwich guy. Their pizza is probably my favorite, hands down. And that's just kind of what I stick to. I'm a simple, just straightforward kind of eater. [00:31:49] Speaker A: Well, nothing wrong with that. And when it's good food, it's good food. Anyway. Tell them who you are and who you with. [00:31:54] Speaker G: Well, my name's Gavin Lish. I'm with Lish Foam Insulators. We're a local insulation company. We've been around for. Since. Well, since a long time. But we were officially established in Carthage in 2017. But our family has been insulating for the last 30, 40 years. We specialize in foam insulation, but we do fiberglass, and we do crawl space encapsulations. And our real focus is just making comfortable homes for people who want to enjoy their home for a long time. [00:32:23] Speaker A: Okay. And I'm going to go. I'm going to go back and ask you some questions about that. But you got this suspect character in your family, Wild Bill. [00:32:30] Speaker G: Wild Bill, Yeah. You know him, Kind of like the black sheep of the family. [00:32:37] Speaker A: I know if people want to see him, they can go up to Granville sometimes. [00:32:40] Speaker G: Granville. I guess he'll be at the Smith County Fair here in a couple of weeks, you know, but yeah, you can see him at Granville, too. [00:32:47] Speaker A: You know, I told him the other day, I said, you know, I like everything about you, but man, you got to fix your hair, folks. You'll get that if you'll understand that later. Anyway, so let's get back to the installation to get serious. First thing, how do they get in contact with you if they want to have a job done? [00:33:05] Speaker G: Absolutely. So you can really. The best way to reach out to us is one of our phone numbers. You can dial 615-752-9073, or you can dial 615-489-2166, and that'll get you me or that'll get you Steven Lish. And if you're not able to reach out to us that way, you can follow us on Facebook and leave us a message there, or email@lishfoam llc.com or sorry, @gmail.com. and those are two. Two or three different ways. [00:33:35] Speaker A: Okay, well. And you have a website, too? [00:33:37] Speaker G: We do have a website yet. And actually, I believe you can go on there and you can actually fill out a request form that'll automatically put you into our system, and we'll get you all set up from there. [00:33:45] Speaker A: Okay. And you're located just down the road. [00:33:47] Speaker G: Just down the road right off Highway 70? [00:33:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Right. And are you technically South Carolina? Okay, so you guys are in South Carthage, then? Well, when you come to encapsulation is something that a lot of people are doing. [00:34:01] Speaker G: Oh, yeah. [00:34:02] Speaker A: And that'll save you a lot of money. It's really good for you to do for your house, isn't it? [00:34:05] Speaker G: Yeah. Yeah. So we, when we talk about what's called stack effect, that's the way air moves through a house. So air starts at the bottom of your house. It's going to work its way towards the roof. Right. Because it's where your heat's lost and all that. Well, the crawl space is where about 10 to 15% of your air leakage is. If you can insulate that crawl space well, encapsulate it and seal it up and then condition it, makes a big difference on the electric bill. Health is the biggest one. It'll make a big difference in your health, your overall quality of air you're breathing. [00:34:33] Speaker A: Well, we live in an area that has a lot of limestone, and I know people don't talk about it as much anymore, but radon is a real thing. [00:34:40] Speaker G: Big thing. Yeah. It's moving. We're getting more and more strict on codes for radon vents. And radon mitigation is becoming more and more popular because of, you know, the issues, the health issues that people are having in that situation. [00:34:53] Speaker A: Well, many years ago, I had my crawl space encapsulated, and they put vents in that basically open and close with the temperature. And I guess that keeps the air regulated. [00:35:04] Speaker G: It does. [00:35:05] Speaker A: Keeps things going. [00:35:06] Speaker G: Positioning that crawl space. Yes, sir. It'll help. It just helps keep the air from getting stagnant. It reduces mold growth. It can help move moisture around if you do have any moisture issues. And it's just. Just a great system. [00:35:18] Speaker A: Yeah. I know in new homes that they put in anymore, they usually encapsulate them now. They do from the start. [00:35:26] Speaker G: Yeah, it's kind of becoming, especially in my world, I see it every day, it's becoming the new standard to just go ahead and encapsulate it. Because we see a lot of the problems in homes start at the crawl space. It's because of moisture. I think something like 90 or 95% of all home damage is because of water. [00:35:46] Speaker E: Right. [00:35:46] Speaker G: Well, if you most your water is coming up, it's not, you know, it's that kind of thing. So if you can keep those floor joists from rotten, you're doing great. [00:35:53] Speaker A: Yeah, well, all right, let's move from the crawl space through the living space. Go to the attic. You guys take care of that too, right? [00:35:58] Speaker G: We take care of. From the bottom to the top, anything. [00:36:01] Speaker A: Well, now, when you get into an attic, do you just basically lay insulation or spray it into the joists there? Can you do something on the roof as well? [00:36:10] Speaker G: You can. We do. We have a lot of systems that we do. It depends on, you know, number one, the budget, what people are able to spend, and that's fine. And then we look at, you know, what does the. The project itself call for? Some projects really end up working better, especially when you get into vaulted ceilings and tall ceilings. Spray foam is going to be the better option because you may need to access that later on. You don't want to have insulation up there. You may need to, you know, watch how the insulation is placed. And if you're, you know, this far from the roof deck, you might as well do the spray foam and encapsulate it all, get a better insulation. And, you know, batting insulation ain't getting no cheaper. [00:36:46] Speaker A: Yeah, well. Well, that's true. When you. When you're doing insulation in a cross or the attic space like that, I know the temperature gets extremely hot. Yeah. I mean, so you got to have vents and you do? Yeah, to let the air flow through. Now, 30 plus years ago, TVA had a program where they came in and we signed up for it and we had the insulation put in their house. Now they blew in. It was like a paper like, but loose. [00:37:20] Speaker G: Is it gray? Gray. Probably a cellulose. [00:37:23] Speaker A: Probably a cellulose, yeah. Cellulose. Is that still something they do or is something new? [00:37:28] Speaker G: So we actually are partnered with tva. We partner with them to, you know, if we come in and we do say a re blow on your attic space and get into some air sealing and stuff like that, there's actually benefits that we could offer. You know, the TVA will possibly, excuse me, inspect it and then actually write checks back to the homeowners depending on which services we offer and depending on which rebates they're offering at the time. So we've partnered with them too. You know, a lot of times we don't do specifically cellulose. We stick to mostly fiberglass insulation. That's just kind of been our bread and butter. Or we do a spray foam encapsulation. Either one makes you eligible for some of those TBA rebates. [00:38:09] Speaker A: Okay, well, if somebody like myself out there and they had all that done 25 or 30 years ago, should they consider maybe having that looked at? Yeah. [00:38:20] Speaker G: So the general rule of thumb is, you know, and this is something I tell homeowners, I ask them, listen, are you planning on living in this house for X amount of years? Let's say seven to 10 years? Well, if you're living there for seven to 10 years, and that's just kind of the rule of thumb, in seven to 10 years, you're going to need to top off your fiberglass. It's going to go from an R38, which we what we install at the initial construction, it's going to drop down to close to an R19. And we're going to need to bring it back up to an R38 to get you the same energy savings, but except 7, 10 years. We all know this price is just going to be more expensive. And you know, that's why a lot of people, when they're living there for a long time, they tend to go for a spray foam because they don't have to do that. It's a one and done deal, you know. But yeah, absolutely. Every seven to 10 years, if it's been that long since you've had an insulation, that's about a good time to do it. [00:39:07] Speaker A: Well, if you've got cellulose can you go to the spray foam? [00:39:11] Speaker G: Yeah, absolutely. So I. I was looking at one today, actually, just quoting one for a gentleman doing insulation removal. So we'll remove all the insulation, anything that's up there. And we've said suck some stuff up. That's nasty. I mean, just animals before, you know, we have this big old vacuum. We'll just suck up and clear out the whole attic space. And then we go in and we. We seal the entire attic space with spray foam, and then, boom, they're done. [00:39:36] Speaker A: Okay, well, when you do spray foam, are you doing the floor, the ceiling joists? Are you doing the rafters on the roof itself? [00:39:43] Speaker G: Generally speaking, we're going to do the rafters. And. And the reason is, is because most of your H Vac systems are in your attic space. And at least here in Tennessee, not all, but a lot of them are. And that actually makes your energy bill even less because now your H vac is not trying to make ice cream in an oven. Right. [00:40:00] Speaker A: Yeah. And that makes sense. If you've got a split unit, then part of it's in the. [00:40:06] Speaker G: Part of it's in the attic, or could be the crawl space. But a lot of time it's in the attic if you have a split uni. [00:40:09] Speaker A: Yeah. So unless you got a package unit sitting outside of your house, you got it in the. [00:40:14] Speaker G: Yes, sir. [00:40:15] Speaker A: In the top. I know that's not your area, but is one of them better to operate and cheaper than the other, or do you even. [00:40:24] Speaker G: Between a package and a split. Yeah, it really depends. I mean, these split units are getting really efficient. And I say, I mean, these H vac units are becoming, you know, higher Sears variable speeds, inverters. They're getting really, really fancy with some of these units. It's not. Again, it's not my area of extra expertise. I do study it because of so, you know, intertwined with insulation, but, you know, to say one's better than the other, I think that's a project to project Question. Some houses do really well with, well, packages, and some do really well with [00:40:55] Speaker A: splits and H vac. Guy would want to answer anyway, so. Okay. All right, well, one last time, tell them how they can get in touch with you, and then we'll get out of here. [00:41:05] Speaker G: Okay, well, my name is Gavin. You can get in touch as well touch with me specifically at 615-752-9073 or you can email me at lishfoam llcmail.com okay. [00:41:18] Speaker A: And if Wild Bill comes to your house, get ready to laugh. [00:41:20] Speaker G: Right? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Thank you. [00:41:24] Speaker A: We hope you enjoyed the show today. We got a lot of things that are going on in Smith County. We actually had several things happen this last month. I want to say congratulations to all the high school graduates of 2026 at both Smith County High School and Gordonsville High School. We're really proud of you guys and thankful for what you do for the community when you're in school, with your community service and all the stuff that you do. Also, we are having our annual chamber banquet May 28, and we're looking forward to that. All you guys that are chamber members out there, you'll be getting an invitation in the mail. And we really appreciate you being chamber members. And our mayor is going to give the State of the county address and tell you what's going on in Smith County. So, anyway, we hope you enjoyed the show again. You need to come to the Sparta Greek Grill and try out the gyros. They are really good. And these guys will treat you so well that you will come back, I promise you. So come to Rock City and eat some good food. So until next time, may God bless you and we'll see you next month.