How Sweet It Is! Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s

How Sweet It Is! 

As Told to Hasan James

“I love this show! Miss Robbie, you are an inspiration. You’re not only a successful business owner; you use your resources to support your family and to help others get a leg up as well. You manage to be a tough businesswoman and still share a busload of love with your family, your workers and your customers. Bless you!”

That was a testimonial from one of the millions of people who tune in to OWN’s hit show, Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s. Already in its third season, Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s is a show about everyday people like you and I; hard working people who love life and family. Root Magazine caught up with the two stars of the show, Miss Robbie and Tim, as they were making promotional stops for Season 3 already in progress. We got to witness first hand why the matriarch and “Head Man” of the family are so loved by millions.

Root: Congratulations on the third season of Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s. What do you think is the best thing about working with your family?

Miss Robbie: It has its ups and downs but family is the one thing that I can always depend on, so that’s the security I have working with my family.

Root: How is the new restaurant, Upper Crust, doing?

Miss Robbie: The new restaurant is doing well. It is not 100% there yet but it’s doing well, considering.

Root: Will we get to see the progression of the restaurant in Season 3?

Miss Robbie: We still have a lot of pitfalls, but during the “soft opening” you will see that I am having my birthday party there and the baby will be having his first birthday party there as well, so we are definitely moving on in the right direction.

Root: Who came to you with the idea of doing an actual reality show about Sweetie Pies?

Miss Robbie: Tim thought that the daily operations going on in the restaurant was crazy and that it needed to be on television, so he was trying to get a film crew to film it.

Root: So Tim, you are the mastermind behind all of this?

Tim: Yeah man, I was dabbling in pilots and things like that and I wasn’t getting anywhere with it so my mom and I decided to come out with a concept pilot about the restaurant and the rest is history. I was trying to get away from the restaurant…

Miss Robbie: He was trying to get a way from his Mama (Laughter)

Root: Never! Tim is all talk when it comes to that (Laughter). How did Oprah and the OWN network get involved?

Tim: The stars just aligned at the right time because by the time I got the pilot done, I had some people who knew some people out in Los Angeles and it eventually got in the hands of some people at OWN and the network had just started so it was just a blessing from God.

Root: That’s indeed a blessing. One of my favorite episodes was when Oprah actually came to the restaurant. Were you all really surprised?

Miss Robbie: I was in total shock! I knew something was gonna happen but I just thought it was press for her Life Class that she was doing in St. Louis and I thought they were coming to the restaurant to give out tickets. I never imagined that Oprah was going to show up. She was really great!

Root: You come from a singing background as a former member of the Ikettes. Who are some of your favorite gospel artists?

Miss Robbie: I like Yolanda Adams and Mary Mary but my favorite of all time is Mahalia Jackson. That’s old school!

Root: Tim, we saw in the show last season that you were dabbling in music. How has that been going for you?

Tim: The music industry is up and down, so my main focus is on the TV show right now.

Root: Sweetie Pies is becoming a conglomerate in many ways. What’s next for you guys?

Miss Robbie: We currently have a culinary school and a banquet facility. We are also working on some marketing products and I am going into the soap business. Tim wants to open another restaurant.

Tim: We are definitely branching out, so hopefully another Sweetie Pie’s restaurant will be in another city within the next year. Also, by next spring we plan on having some products on the shelves, so you will be able to get the Sweetie Pies experience in your local supermarket.

Tune in to Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s every Saturday on OWN at 9PM EST, 8PM CEN

Root’s Editor-In-Chief, Hasan James and Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s stars, Miss Robbie and Tim