Cedric The Entertainer And Anthony Anderson Double The Sauce At AC Barbeque

While Cedric The Entertainer may have conceded and named Anthony Anderson better on the grill due to his Food Network side missions, the two actors have united their passions for a joint venture into the culinary world at AC Barbeque. With separate roots in Little Rock and St. Louis, the veteran entertainers brought their personal heritage and business acumen to solidify the start-up.

“I knew a blew Ced’s mind one time when we were developing a barbecue sauce,” Anderson reflected to VIBE in an afternoon Zoom chat in early August when chatting about the story behind the brand for National Black Business Month. He continued to recall the discussion, which included a food scientist, where he critiqued the “viscosity” of the condiment.

“I humbly accept Ced saying that I’m the better griller, but Ced is a better curator of parties, so that we can have a place to come to, to grill, to celebrate, so it’s a marriage made in heaven for both of us,” he said.

The eatery, built in the food court at the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles, was not an overnight project. The idea was workshopped for over a year, with pop-ups at various Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the South and East Coast.

AC Barbeque at Westfield Century City Mall

VIBE

“We loved this opportunity to be on the HBCU campuses, and eventually a couple of other universities, where we were able to again, create a test kitchen, create the things that we knew that could sell fast. Brisket sandwiches, wraps, these things that you learned that you didn’t think about,” shared Cedric The Entertainer.

“The thing about college is, we know that kids are on the move. They’re not there to sit down for a full dining experience. And so this really helped us formulate the restaurant to realize that we love this fast casual space.”

To expand the idea of the quick service restaurant, AC Barbeque’s menu offers the aforementioned items, such as wraps, sandwiches, and French Fries for those on the go. Traditional platters that include multiple meat selections, sauce, and pickles, as well as sides such as slaw, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and desserts, are presented for customers with time to sit down and indulge.

Oscar Del Aguila

“We’ve been having a lot of fun. The pulled pork sandwich is amazing. The mac and cheese, [and] the baked beans are really popular there. We’ve got a new brisket wrap that we do, that’s a lot of fun. But all of the proteins, the chicken, the pulled pork, all these things are killing, then we’re going to start adding in some new things,” boasted Cedric.

Both men gleamed with pride discussing their menu and the potential launch of Rib Tip Tuesday or Burnt End Friday. VIBE visited AC Barbeque to taste what the two comedic talents had to offer. The order consisted of a half rack of St. Louis-style ribs, and the A To C Platter, which included Smoked chicken, pulled pork, and brisket—served up with Pullman bread, Hawaiian rolls, all the fixin’s, and a trio of their signature sauces.

Each protein had the taste of being fresh off the grill. The macaroni cheese was indulgently creamy with a perfect balance of cheese and noodle. The brisket inside the baked beans made a hearty bite of the sweet yet semi-spicy side dish. The ribs offered were juicy and tender with a tasty, signature sauce. Overall, the trip was satisfactory for a midday barbecue craving.

AC Barbeque at Westfield Century City Mall

VIBE

This is only the beginning, however, as the plan is for AC Barbeque to exist everywhere for all. As entrepreneurs, both actors are able to leverage the lessons learned through their journeys in Hollywood to maintain and manifest present and future success.

“I’ll just say that this is simple for us. We know how to market ourselves and we’ve been able to do that successfully with the work that we’ve done,” remarked Anderson.

“Television, film on stage, on Broadway, solo man with the mic telling jokes. It lends itself to being able to market a great product, but along the way, we also had to create a great product. And I look at it as the two going hand in hand. My great products have been my television show, Black-ish, and the movies that I’ve been in. The great product for Ced has been his stand-up comedy and the movies, and the television that he’s developed and created, and produced. So we are creating and producing great barbecue, a great restaurant experience, and we’re also able to market that on top of that.”

Oscar Del Aguila

“In this business, you’ve got to be able to have a short memory. You learn a lesson, you grow, you go back out there and do it again,” added the Barbershop actor. “From us building careers where we audition— you got to go in there, sometimes you get the role, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you get a show that’s hot or you get a joke that’s crazy, sometimes the joke don’t work. And so this is the idea that we learned in business… And it is something that you realize that we were freshmen in this category. We never owned restaurants before. We never had products before.”

He continued, “Our resilience in energy of understanding that it takes more than one shot to be great. It takes more than one hit to be a star. All these things are things that we bring to this business. Knowing that each and every day is important for us to show up and be great that day. It’s important for us to show up and be good again. Not just talk about my rep back in the past. You can Kings of Comedy me all day, but what’s the joke you got today, bro? That’s it. And that’s the way we look at our business. Each day, we’re in there trying to figure out how to be greater and better at it.”

For now, customers can visit the mall’s food court for a fresh plate or try to emulate the flavor at home by purchasing the brand’s rubs and spices on the official website.