Raquel Ervin

Raquel Ervin (born 1985 in Mobile, Mobile County) is a chef, caterer and restaurateur who founded Panoptic catering company, Slide food truck and restaurant, and the RL Restaurant Group.

Ervin was one of six children raised by Lenzie and Louise George in Mobile. Her older sister, Regina, owned the Red Bean Café where Raquel had her first job. After graduating from John S. Shaw High School she moved immediately into restaurant management.

Ervin worked in corporate food service before founding her catering company in 2014 and incorporating Panoptic LLC the following year. She opened her food truck in 2020 and transitioned to a brick-and-mortar restaurant, soon renamed Slide, in Irondale in 2021.

A second Slide location at 2408 Pelham Parkway in Pelham was announced in early 2022. Those plans were changed, however, and Ervin instead opened a new Smoke Bistro in the former Eli's Jerusalem Grill space at Pizitz Food Hall in 2023, and made plans to relocate Slide to a 4,000 square-foot space near the Denham Building in Birmingham's Parkside District. She incorporated RL Restaurant Group as an umbrella for those ventures in June 2023.

Ervin has appeared frequently on televised cooking competitions and her recipe won 1st Place at the 2018 Magic City Mac + Cheese Festival. She is a member of the Birmingham chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier International and president of the Birmingham chapter of the American Culinary Federation. She was listed in the Birmingham Business Journal's 2021 "Top 40 Under 40".

Ervin has two sons, Ethan and Aidan.

References

• Richardson, Irene (June 23, 2020) "Top-rated Birmingham catering company opens a new food truck." Bham Now
• Bowser, Javacia Harris (September 27, 2020) "Meet the Chef Behind the Eat at Panoptic Food Truck." StyleBlueprint
• Rebman, Stephanie (October 14, 2020) "Prominent chef to open new restaurant on Crestwood Blvd." Birmingham Business Journal
• Rebman, Stephanie (April 19, 2020) "Eat At Panoptic cafe opening in Irondale May 1." Birmingham Business Journal
• Michaels, Ryan (September 30, 2021) "Birmingham Chef Raquel Ervin Has Recipe For Success." The Birmingham Times
• "2021 Top 40 Under 40: Raquel Ervin, Panoptic LLC" (October 29, 2021) Birmingham Business Journal
• Rebman, Stephanie (January 4, 2022) "Raquel Ervin bringing Slide location to Pelham." Birmingham Business Journal
• Love, Michelle (January 27, 2022) "Chef Raquel Ervin set to bring fun and innovative restaurant to Pelham." Shelby County Reporter
• Rebman, Stephanie (January 13, 2022) "Birmingham chef Raquel Ervin appearing on 'Chopped'." Birmingham Business Journal
• Wommack, Camille (May 31, 2022) "Birmingham’s SLIDE is moving downtown—get all the details here!" Bham Now
• "SMOKE Bistro plans spring opening in Pizitz Food Hall." (February 6, 2023) Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• Raquel Ervin on Linkedin.com