In the wake of COVID-19, local businesses and companies, such as Grambling’s WhoMadeMeDoIt, have been forced to change the way they operate in order to stay in business.
WhoMadeMeDoIt's location right next to GSU’s campus resulted in a steep decline in business early on this year after all students were sent home for midway through spring semester.
“When we came up with the idea of WhoMadeMeDoIt, we picked this specific spot because it is right next to the campus. Our goal is to be interactive with our customers as much as possible and COVID-19 has interrupted that tremendously,” owner Shelby Prout stated.
However, for these young entrepreneurs, running a business in the middle of a pandemic became a challenge they showed no fear about. They took advantage of the downtime and as a result, Prout said WhoMadeMeDoIt has back stronger than ever.
WhoMadeMeDoIt reopened up just in time for the fall semester. Prout said the restaurant does not plan to go anywhere anytime soon.
“During the pandemic, our team has had a lot of time to think and figure out how to improve the business when the time comes to open back up,” Prout said. “We have been experimenting, looking for new items to add to the menu as well as going the extra mile when it comes to advertising.”
Prout had to accommodate for new restrictions imposed by the state government aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus. Precautions had to be taken into account, such as masks being required for all employees and customers and reducing capacity requiring WhoMadeMeDoIt to move to take out only.
The restaurant is known for their famous wings and po boys, but in the right season, they also serve crawfish, potatoes and many more down south favorites.
In addition to Grambling locals, students from Louisiana Tech and University of Monroe often go out of their way to visit the restaurant to get a little taste of something different.
The idea of WhoMadeMeDoIt started with two friends who made music together wanting to invest into a small restaurant. Prout, aka “Fiji Mcdowell”, and Michael Barnes, aka “Mike B”, collabed together on a song called “Fiji Made Me Do it” which is where the name “WhoMadeMeDoIt” originated.
