In the midst of celebrating their latest culinary venture, Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer have nothing but praise for everyone who helped them along the way — including Oprah and Don Cheadle.
The longtime friends opened up about the subject while chatting exclusively with Parade at the grand opening of their AC Barbeque restaurant at Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 7.
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“Oprah put us on her favorite list,” Anderson, 54, began. Cedric, 61, later added: “Yeah, it was huge. We love it. Shout out, Oprah! She carried us on her Favorite Things, so she loved that.”
The Neighborhood star continued: “And then again, we had our super critic. Don Cheadle is the hardest critic of all time. And so he came last night and he gave us a thumbs up, which we were like, ‘Yo. Yo, that’s official.’ Oprah is big time. But for us personally, knowing that we go out to eat with this dude [Cheadle] all the time, and he’s like, ‘Boo, boo, bah humbug?’ For him to go like, ‘Hey, man, it’s pretty good,’ [is awesome].”
Anderson went on to tell Parade that he’s proud of himself and Cedric for how they’ve grown their company, which started with signature seasoning blends in 2023.
“It feels great to watch something grow from just a seasoning blend to a full-fledged brick and mortar restaurant, having kitchens on seven colleges and universities, having a food truck on one college. And then having a collaboration with Arby’s with two new sauces with them,” he says. “That was the mustard seed that grew into what you see today.”
Related: Arby’s Unveils ‘Delicious Fusion’ of New Menu Items With ‘Authentic’ Collab
