Nonfiction

Black, White, and the Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant

Black, White, and the Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant

  • Downloads：9085
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-01 00:21:48
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mashama Bailey
  • ISBN：1984856200
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Mike Stopka ，

I have read several booty books over the years。 As I am a self-professed foodie。 And I found this book extremely inspiring。 To find somebody who came from a media in arts business to work with a up-and-coming chef。 Just wonderful。

Maggie Skarich Joos ，

If you run a food business， read this。 If you work with a partner， read this。 If you’re grappling with your thoughts on race， read this。 Man， this is a great book！！

Gail ，

Not my cup of tea for a read。 Tried the audio version without much more joy。 Though some very interesting and relevant social issues were discussed 。

Max Potthoff ，

I ate at the Grey in Savannah this past November and loved it。 The food， the aesthetic， and the message of it all left a significant impression on me。 I picked up this book as an impulse buy at The Grey Market because， like everything else associated with this restaurant， it looked damn good。My favorite part about this book was Mashama's contributions。 She was funny and insightful; all of her passages calibrated the book in a way that made sense to me。 I came to appreciate Johno's perspective， b I ate at the Grey in Savannah this past November and loved it。 The food， the aesthetic， and the message of it all left a significant impression on me。 I picked up this book as an impulse buy at The Grey Market because， like everything else associated with this restaurant， it looked damn good。My favorite part about this book was Mashama's contributions。 She was funny and insightful; all of her passages calibrated the book in a way that made sense to me。 I came to appreciate Johno's perspective， but his insistence that his business partners and employees be his family were suspect to me。 By the end of the book， I believed him， but it took many pages of raised eyebrowness to get there。 To appreciate this book， the reader needs to be patient with some of the Johno passages where he struggles with race。。I often felt a "no shit man， you're just thinking about this now？" feeling while reading some of his reflections。 But he is up front that this is personal journey， all of the shortcomings and raw spots that entails。The recipes in this book were awesome and made me want to eat there again。 Overall， a fun and unusual read that captured the challenges of opening a restaurant （or really creating anything from scratch）。 。。。more

Teresa Forsberg ，

This is a book about a restaurant， The Grey， founded in an old Greyhound bus station in Savannah， GA。 This is the story of an Italian White man who bought that old building and wanted to turn it into a restaurant。 This is his story of realizing the best way to do that well was to find a Black Woman chef to partner with in the endeavor。 It’s a book about race， Southern culture， food， and creating a culture of family。 Johno and Mashama wrote this book together， their voices intermingled throughout This is a book about a restaurant， The Grey， founded in an old Greyhound bus station in Savannah， GA。 This is the story of an Italian White man who bought that old building and wanted to turn it into a restaurant。 This is his story of realizing the best way to do that well was to find a Black Woman chef to partner with in the endeavor。 It’s a book about race， Southern culture， food， and creating a culture of family。 Johno and Mashama wrote this book together， their voices intermingled throughout each chapter （distinguished by regular and bold faced font）。 It’s a story of their journey together to build something they would be proud of。 Not being a foodie at all， I still enjoyed the discussions of food and menu items。 Each chapter ended with a recipe for a food that has been on the menu of The Gray。 。。。more

Paula ，

Great book to start reading challenge for 2022！ A book about race， gender， equity， food， community， personal growth， family， friendship， change！A better world is possible！

Jim ，

There are plenty of excellent summaries of the book。 Simply， I am a fan of Mashama Bailey and would have preferred to hear more from her and her journey。 The majority of the book is narrated by Johno who I found to be uninteresting and self serving。

SarahLaine Magaña ，

This was such an enjoyable read！ I half read/ half listened to an audiobook。 Their voices were engaging， and even though there were moments of awkwardness， it was endearing and I felt that I made two new friends。 I felt the loss of their friend from the start of the book， and when it came back around to that night， it was even more heart wrenching。 The journey of this friendship， partnership， and restaurant was honest， but remained poetic。 The Grey being between black and white， between neighbor This was such an enjoyable read！ I half read/ half listened to an audiobook。 Their voices were engaging， and even though there were moments of awkwardness， it was endearing and I felt that I made two new friends。 I felt the loss of their friend from the start of the book， and when it came back around to that night， it was even more heart wrenching。 The journey of this friendship， partnership， and restaurant was honest， but remained poetic。 The Grey being between black and white， between neighborhoods， and a former place of meetings/departures seems almost too perfect to be true。 There were moments in the progression of their understanding of each other that were so timely。 For example， the way that Johno hesitated on the artwork， but wanted to insist on restoring the old signage in The Grey。 It demonstrated his place in the journey of racial reconciliation through his focus on facing the past and reckoning with it—but worry about offending people with statements of progression that could be seen as radical。 The way he authentically shared this and learned through Mashama’s opposite reactions—with her instantly being drawn to Marcus Kenney’s piece on progress， but speaking up about how the old signage could make people （rightfully） uncomfortable in the dining room—highlighted his fixation on confronting the past without dealing with race as it was in his life in the present。 Mashama hadn’t had that choice。 These conversations and more made this book an experience that I am grateful for。 We are traveling to visit Savannah in February and have reservations at The Grey。 I can’t wait！ 。。。more

Herbie ，

A tremendous book that is just as much about food and opening a restaurant as it is partnerships and race。I loved so many things about the book， including the format in which the book is constructed。 Both Mashama and "Johno"'s words fill each chapter and recipe， using different text styling as a visual cue to determine who is writing。 Johno is a bit more verbose; Mashama's writing is richly human and concise。 The context and backdrop of Savannah was illuminating: I learned a lot about a city I a A tremendous book that is just as much about food and opening a restaurant as it is partnerships and race。I loved so many things about the book， including the format in which the book is constructed。 Both Mashama and "Johno"'s words fill each chapter and recipe， using different text styling as a visual cue to determine who is writing。 Johno is a bit more verbose; Mashama's writing is richly human and concise。 The context and backdrop of Savannah was illuminating: I learned a lot about a city I am unfamiliar with。 This book is often uncomfortably honest （likely my own experience as a cisgender white man， and seeing my own inherited biases played out via Johno） but full of care and love。I feel deeply invested in The Grey， in Johno， and in Mashama after reading this book。 I would recommend to anyone with an interest in food， restaurants， business， race， partnerships， Savannah， the South， history， etc。。。。。 。。。more

Shannon Seidt ，

I really enjoyed this book。 From the inner working of the founding of a restaurant and a partnership， to the recipes following every chapter， it's a foodie's delight。 More importantly， however， is the building of an unexpected friendship between two people from different backgrounds and the bond created by food。 This book， set in the beautiful city of Savannah， GA （and sometimes Paris and Italy） is disarming in the way the authors discuss race， family history and value formation， and the future。 I really enjoyed this book。 From the inner working of the founding of a restaurant and a partnership， to the recipes following every chapter， it's a foodie's delight。 More importantly， however， is the building of an unexpected friendship between two people from different backgrounds and the bond created by food。 This book， set in the beautiful city of Savannah， GA （and sometimes Paris and Italy） is disarming in the way the authors discuss race， family history and value formation， and the future。 In addition， the way the authors bounce back and forth between writing to provide their alternate viewpoints makes this an extremely enjoyable book。 I highly recommend。 。。。more

Kris ，

3。5

Tyler Hoffman ，

Loved the structure with the authors’ alternating perspectives - especially on topics relating to race

Ric Montelongo ，

This book not only describes the complexity of opening a restaurant， but also the complexity of forming a partnership， a friendship， and eventually a family。 The Grey can stand in as a metaphor for any organization looking to be a change agent in these deeply divisive times。 Well written with emotion and heart。

Emily Del ，

I

David Meyer ，

A food memoir about a lot more than just food。 The process of how their restaurant came to be is interesting， though a bit anxiety inducing to know how little the main investor knew before going into it。 The relationships formed and the difficulties involved in them were discussed in a mature， honest， and thought provoking way。

Katie Wasserman ，

i enjoyed this。 i love food。 i love personal stories。 i’m passionate about racial issues & hearing personal perspectives on race in this country。 i thought this was a cool book and overall i enjoyed hearing the story of the grey。

Julia Beck ，

A wonderful audio book。 Told through two perspectives。 The unfolding events come to life in rich， layered ways thanks to the POVS of Mashama and Jono。 There is as much to elevate as to frustrate the listener。 And the result is being inside as the three main characters -- The Grey， Mashama and Jono grow， evolve， fall and get up again。 It is intimate in all the best ways。

Mary Dent ，

Mashama and Jonno read their story in the audio book。 I enjoyed listening to their trials。 I liked hearing about Savannah too。 I hope to visit them at The Grey！

Carrie Honaker ，

So many things I loved in this book。 Since the first time I heard Johno and Mashama speak about inclusivity and community on a webinar for @Oystersouth this Spring， I knew I needed to read this book。 Coming from years in the restaurant industry so much of their journey resonated， but when I woke up this morning there was a line that still stuck。 “If personal space was your drug， you could overdose easily on it during the pandemic。”This is an important work that explores class， race， gender dispa So many things I loved in this book。 Since the first time I heard Johno and Mashama speak about inclusivity and community on a webinar for @Oystersouth this Spring， I knew I needed to read this book。 Coming from years in the restaurant industry so much of their journey resonated， but when I woke up this morning there was a line that still stuck。 “If personal space was your drug， you could overdose easily on it during the pandemic。”This is an important work that explores class， race， gender disparity， and the systemic issues in hospitality。 Read it for that。 But it also explores how social distance and lockdown has changed not just the restaurant industry， but all of us as humans。 For that it is an even more important read。 。。。more

Andrea ，

It was quite enjoyable up to a point but then totally lost focus - 80% in and still nothing about the actual reataurant just the unbearable neediness of Morissano。。。。aargh。

Jordan Lombard ，

This was interesting， but felt very unfinished。 They should have waited a few more years， at least， before writing this。Mashama still felt like a second fiddle to Johno even though they apparently worked on that。 And I’m not convinced she was ever really interested in the book at all。Where were the other workers in the telling？ It was weird to bookend the story with the death of someone who was a good friend and coworker， but whom we never get to know because his name never comes up in the rest This was interesting， but felt very unfinished。 They should have waited a few more years， at least， before writing this。Mashama still felt like a second fiddle to Johno even though they apparently worked on that。 And I’m not convinced she was ever really interested in the book at all。Where were the other workers in the telling？ It was weird to bookend the story with the death of someone who was a good friend and coworker， but whom we never get to know because his name never comes up in the rest of the book。 Also， didn’t Mashama bring another cook with her from NYC？ Who was that？ How was her move？ What is her job title？ How did opening day go？ We built up to it and then nothing。 What are the patrons like？ I know one guy was a racist， but what about the others？ The regulars？ I just want to know more about the actual running of the restaurant。 The audiobook was read by both authors， which was great， but it’s clear Mashama is uncomfortable and reading off the page in the beginning， which felt very awkward to me， almost like I was stepping in where I wasn’t wanted。I did enjoy this， but I had a lot of questions， and some aspects just didn’t work for me。 。。。more

Joy ，

This is good and unusual in a positive way。 It is an autobiography of how a white male investor and an African American woman chef came together to create an outstanding restaurant， The Grey， in Savannah， Georgia。 If you are fan of The Chef's Table on Netflix， Mashama Bailey is one of the chef's showcased on the show。 This book takes that story， adds her partners voice， and gives the reader all the things that went into creating a partnership that created a famous restaurant。 While the book does This is good and unusual in a positive way。 It is an autobiography of how a white male investor and an African American woman chef came together to create an outstanding restaurant， The Grey， in Savannah， Georgia。 If you are fan of The Chef's Table on Netflix， Mashama Bailey is one of the chef's showcased on the show。 This book takes that story， adds her partners voice， and gives the reader all the things that went into creating a partnership that created a famous restaurant。 While the book does cover some of the usual ups and downs of two people coming together who have never run a restaurant before--Mashama was a chef， but she wasn't the owner--it also takes on some of the really tough things like how race， gender， power， privilege and supervisory or coping strategies come together。 John Morisano， the other half of The Grey， starts the book out introducing how the first drafts of the book were criticized by friends and family for using very little of Mashama's voice。 I would argue that it still uses a lot of his voice and that this could have been changed even more， but I also walked away from the book wondering if part of this isn't due to the chef wanting to remain as private about her life as she could。 It is clear that John is more comfortable sharing some very personal things about himself but Mashama did not do this regularly and， of course， she has a right to her privacy even with all the publicity swirling around her， her partner and the restaurant。 What I really loved about the book is that the two of them don't shy away from questions of race， privilege and gender in their conversations about how to run The Grey and what it means to truly be a partnership， not just an investor and a chef working together。 This makes the book uncomfortable at times as they work their way through these conversations， but it shows that uncomfortable can be a good thing and it really is a necessary thing as our culture continues to challenge accepted views of privilege， race and gender。 By their example， this book also shows readers that it is possible to have these conversations， make mistakes， regroup， and keep trying。 。。。more

PRbyMeghan ，

So thankful to grab this book， read about an awesome duo and their journey。 #cheerstoscott

Zach Church ，

The recipes look _great_。 I wish I still cooked meat at home， because that Sunday gravy。 I marked a number of these to cook。Like some other reviewers here， I was really thrown by the framing device about the car accident。 It was awkward and strange and I think intended to say something about race and family and Savannah。 But it made me feel kind of strange about bookending a book about opening a restaurant with a 'Is he dead？' question looming over the whole thing。 Some parts of this were really The recipes look _great_。 I wish I still cooked meat at home， because that Sunday gravy。 I marked a number of these to cook。Like some other reviewers here， I was really thrown by the framing device about the car accident。 It was awkward and strange and I think intended to say something about race and family and Savannah。 But it made me feel kind of strange about bookending a book about opening a restaurant with a 'Is he dead？' question looming over the whole thing。 Some parts of this were really fascinating， such as all the detail that goes into opening a restaurant like this。 The dialogue about race was smart and personal and important。 But there are other books being published about dialogues about race that I would recommend before this one。The back-and-forth worked in some places。 In others， not so much。 Some passages were very long and didn't seem to fit into the overall themes and narratives。 I guess overall it was interesting and fun to read and I really feel like I learned about Savannah in a true way。 But it is scattershot at times。 。。。more

Amy ，

3。5。 was a bit long and repetitive at times。 Would have like to hear more about how The Grey Market started。 And johno acting like he's just an average middle class guy- a house with a pool and a garage in the savannah historic district isn't exactly affordable for most people 3。5。 was a bit long and repetitive at times。 Would have like to hear more about how The Grey Market started。 And johno acting like he's just an average middle class guy- a house with a pool and a garage in the savannah historic district isn't exactly affordable for most people 。。。more

Barb ，

3。5 stars。 I learned a lot about Savannah， and Mashama's voice provided thoughtful reflection on the racial history of the town。 At many points I closed the book and thought about how different I would see things if I was seeing them through her lens instead of mine。 I loved the recipes at the end of the chapters。 The tough start， which didn't have a resolution until the end， annoyed me somewhat。 I appreciate the issues and the way they were presented。 3。5 stars。 I learned a lot about Savannah， and Mashama's voice provided thoughtful reflection on the racial history of the town。 At many points I closed the book and thought about how different I would see things if I was seeing them through her lens instead of mine。 I loved the recipes at the end of the chapters。 The tough start， which didn't have a resolution until the end， annoyed me somewhat。 I appreciate the issues and the way they were presented。 。。。more

Kathy ，

Loved it as an audiobook， hearing the authors narrate their own story。 Loved the talk of food。 Loved the inspiration to bridge the historic gap between those who are privileged and BIPOC。 Creative， well written， revelatory。

Kurt Ronn ，

A little clunky but an interesting story of race， bias， working to become a team and a lot of great reasons to not open a restaurant because you like to eat， unless you have a lot of money to risk。 Congratulations on the book and the restaurant’s success。 Mostly congratulations to both authors on making it work。

Amy ，

Gotta have mad respect for people who have big ideas and then make them happen-- like being a white， male New Yorker with no restaurant experience who buys an old Greyhound station in Savannah， Georgia and decides to transform it into The Grey and become partners with a black female chef who he has just met。 This is the premise of "Black， White， and The Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant" in a nutshell。 When middle-aged John O。 Morisano found his life at an impa Gotta have mad respect for people who have big ideas and then make them happen-- like being a white， male New Yorker with no restaurant experience who buys an old Greyhound station in Savannah， Georgia and decides to transform it into The Grey and become partners with a black female chef who he has just met。 This is the premise of "Black， White， and The Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant" in a nutshell。 When middle-aged John O。 Morisano found his life at an impasse， he decided to shake things up by purchasing a bus station in the Deep South， one that still bore remnants of the past with its "Colored Only" signs。 Kind of on a whim， he decides to make it a restaurant without having any real clue to what he is doing。 But he did know that he wanted this restaurant to be something special， to mean something， especially in the South。 This propelled him to seek out a Black， female chef， who he finds in Mashama Bailey。 Together they form an unlikely friendship as she uproots her life in NY to move to Savannah and be a part of John O。's dream。 They not only face the struggles of creating something new， but also being something new， a biracial partnership-- equals-- in the restaurant business and the South。 This partnership does not come easy as they deal with other people's racism and their own biases。 Both John O。 and Mashama wrote this book together， their voices interplaying with the other。 This allows us to hear both of their perspectives and how each confronted the problems and joys they experienced。 Theirs is a testament to starting over and doing new things and hard things。 What I appreciate about both of them is that they both carved their own paths in life， and I wish my students， who are currently filling out college applications and feeling like they have to marry their major， could hear about their life choices， how life is not linear。 I also appreciate how much effort John O。 and Mashama put into their relationship， to delve deep beyond their obvious differences to find their commonalities。 We are as never as different as we think we are。 By sharing and celebrating what we have in common， we can build community like the one found at The Grey。 The Grey serves as a backdrop of the racism in this country-- from where we were to where we are today-- and they weave in historical and social issues to show how racism still plays out， especially in a city like Savannah that presents the best the South has to offer， while keeping the worst out of tourists' lines of sight。 It is a thought-provoking and optimistic book and I highly recommend it。 。。。more

Cyndy ，

Thoughtful and interesting， but I sorta dragged through it。 The race issues are important and sensitive， but the profanity and disjointedness were distracting。 I do look forward to a meal there！