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Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to info@southernfoodways.org.

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ORAL HISTORY

Michael Failing


Michael Failing, born in 1958, was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. With a natural gift of gab, Failing has worked in restaurant service since he started washing dishes at Bill Nab’s in Lansing in 1976 at fifteen years old. Since he moved to Atlanta in 1983, he has worked the bar at restaurants in the city’s Buckhead neighborhood.

In 2010, Failing moved from beer-soaked party bars to the upscale lobster bar room of Chops Lobster Bar. He appreciates the relationships he’s built with regulars and the freedom his job grants him to travel. Failing says that he and his wife have been able to enjoy two-dozen “once-in-a-lifetime” trips thanks to the flexibility of his job.

Date of interview:
2019-12-19

Interviewer:
Henri Hollis

Photographer:
Henri Hollis

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