Mama T’s Smokin’ Eats Fights to Overcome Costly Setbacks

VILLAGE OF SUPERIOR, Wis.– It’s hard for a business to survive its first year.

But for Mama T’s Smokin’ Eats in the Village of Superior, they were doing everything right.

Receiving 21 award nominations and winning “Best Place to Work”.

“Oh, the community. I love the community, I love the people, I love meeting people. My first question is, ‘Where are you from?’ Cause there’s so many people from all over the place that find my little place on the googles,” said Tanya Lowney.

Mama T’s specializes in bringing flavors from the south to the Midwest, but that’s not the only thing she’s bringing to the table.

“This is a great crew, great people. The food’s fantastic. And you, you know, can’t say enough about it,” said Neil Fischer, a regular customer at Mama T’s.

The restaurant was a dream for owner Tanya Lowney, and she waited decades to get it started.

“I waited 25 years from going to culinary school to open my own place. We had six children first. And I wanted to be a mom first to all six of the kids and then open my place. I took all of my retirement out in this place, so I could finally do my dream. Women owned business, I had goals,” said Lowney.

Shortly after purchasing this building, this dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

“My first nine months when I purchased the building, I had the side structure that had collapsed. The roof started leaking. My cooler motor went out. My hood motor went out, and I had to close both of those days. Losing revenue from that, I had to lose all the food from the cooler. Which was about 3-4 thousand dollars,” said Lowney.

For just the repairs, Mama T’s is looking at over $140,000. But when she did reach out for help. Mama T’s situation worsened.

Her restaurant is only a block inside the Village of Superior limits. Meaning the city of Superior can’t help. This makes applying for grants and loans nearly impossible.

“It’s really hard for me to focus on what I’m doing, when I’m knowing things are collapsing and things keep happening. But it’s frustrating too that I don’t qualify for anything. All these wonderful things are available but why not me. You know I’m in this weird area why is there not an addendum that I’ve heard the city has done for other people. Why is there not an addendum to say hey. let’s help her out,” said Lowney.

But despite these challenges, she’s still doing what she can to help the community. She is a known to be an advocate for veterans in the area.

She partnered with Bent Paddle to create a beer that supports veterans. Lowney says, they’ve also sponsored events such as cruise for cancer.

“Tanya supports a lot, you know she does a lot of the fundraisers. She donates money to the schools.  It’s important to everybody. With the way money is hard now, and people are financially strapped. To have these things, I think it’s pretty awesome,” said Fischer.

“So, it’s just very disheartening that I keep having these huge roadblocks. And it’s just like it doesn’t end.  I feel like I’m letting my staff down somehow. I’m supposed to be the strong one and you fix everything. So, they’re rooting behind me too,” explained Lowney.

At the end of the day, Mama T is thankful for the support from the community, and her regulars.

FOX 21 reached out to both the City of Superior and the Village of Superior for comment. The Village says that they don’t offer any small business relief grants. However, the City of Superior does offer small business grants, which comes from City of Superior taxpayer’s dollars. But the city cannot help Mama T since her business is across city boundaries. Both the village and the city did say that they wished they could help.

There are a few ways people can help out Mama T’s.

You can support the business by stopping for a bite to eat or purchasing gift cards.

They’re also looking for grant writers, and a bank with low interest to consolidate loans, and add new loans for these repairs.

In addition, if you’re looking to donate to this business, you can send it directly to their address:

Mama T’s Smokin’ Eats 6428 Tower Avenue Superior Wi 54880