"Eats to the Beats" looks to Smile More at annual event

When planning started for the second annual “Eats to the Beats” dinner scheduled for the end of February, the easy part was picking the caterer. The Multicultural Center reached out to former Purdue University Fort Wayne student and employee Terel Lynn.

After serving two years as PFW student body president before graduating in 2007, Lynn also worked three years in the Office of Admissions while earning his master’s degree in organizational leadership. He left in 2019 to co-found his business “Smile More Meal Prep.”

For Lynn, returning to PFW to serve at both this event and several others annually is a chance to give back to the school and its people. He can rattle off the names of influential professors, most of whom he keeps in contact with.

“PFW was not only my alma mater, that was my home for a while,” Lynn said. “Networking has truly helped this business get to where it is today, and a lot of that comes from the connections and networking which I learned at PFW. 

“That’s the feeling PFW had. We didn’t have this big campus feeling where everything got lost and you were just a number. PFW means more than just my degree. Everything that I do, I literally got there because of PFW.”

“Eats to the Beat” 2023 runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 28 in the Classic Ballroom at Walb Student Union. Besides the food, the highlights are listening to music by African American composers and performances by students from the School of Music and guest artists. There are 150 free tickets are available in The Multicultural Center at Walb, Room 118. The menu will include gumbo, po’boy sandwiches, and king cake for dessert.

“Terel is an exceptional chef, and his food is delicious,” said Rhonda Meriwether, director, The Multicultural Center. “He had a vision to start his own business and stepped out on faith to do just that. As part of Black History Month, we wanted to support a Black-owned business for our event.”

Along with business partner Joanna Hersey, Lynn has 37 employees. During the past three years, the business has grown from $127,000 in annual sales to almost $1 million in 2022. Now they are expanding with renovated facilities at the former Zion Lutheran School on Weisser Park Avenue.

“They have built an event that is more than just food,” Lynn said. “It means so much to me because of the people. Seeing so many people getting to experience the food we grew up eating, food within our culture, is very special.”