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ORAL HISTORY

Dexter Weaver

Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods

Born in Athens, Georgia, in 1954, Dexter Weaver grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where he tended an urban garden at his family home and began catering from his mother’s kitchen. When Dexter moved back to Athens in the early 1980s, he brought his culinary talents and entrepreneurial spirit with him, cooking for events and selling dinners from his home on the weekends. In 1986 he opened Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods, naming the place after his childhood memories of being at the end of his teacher’s roll call. Weaver D’s quickly gained a reputation for freshly prepared soul food, as well as the unique personality of its owner.

Dexter Weaver has a way with words, and his trademark saying, “Automatic for the People,” pushed him into the limelight when the Athens-based band R.E.M. used the phrase as the title for their 1992 album. In the intervening years, Dexter has made television appearances and authored a cookbook, but his singular style and soulful cooking are still best experienced in person at his namesake eatery.