Bryan Slayton is Finally Free: a True Thanksgiving Story
It took 36 years.
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On the day after Thanksgiving, Bryan Slayton checked his mailbox.
Inside was a letter he never thought would come.
A letter he'd been waiting 36 years to receive.
We first met Bryan in 2023. He's the kind of guy that lights up when you walk in a room, which makes you light up, too. Kind, inviting, generous with hugs and daps and jokes — he became an instant friend.
At the time, he owned Bad Wraps: his own food truck and brick-and-mortar restaurant — housed on MLK Ave. next to Calliope — that served Slayton's own wraps — steak, shrimp, beef, chicken, salmon, veggie — and seven varieties of fries and his own banana pudding.
As we wrote back in 2023 in This Restaurant Tastes Like Freedom:
"He's been making wraps for years. But most of the time, he never had a proper kitchen. Hell, he didn't even have utensils.
"'We used a Comet lid for a cheese grater,' he said."
Before opening Bad Wraps, Bryan, who grew up in the Westside, had spent 31 years in federal prison, locked up on drug charges.
Yes, he sold dope.
Nearly four decades ago.
And all of his charges were non-violent.
In federal prison, he watched a string of 31 Christmases go by. Thirty-one Thanksgivings. Thirty-one Easters. Saw his daughter take her first steps in the prison visiting room in Atlanta.
(He was 21 when he was sentenced. She'd just been born.)
He learned to cook in prison. The idea of Bad Wraps was born in the federal penitentiary.
Released in 2020, he re-entered society on probation: a quasi-version of incarceration with multiple tripwires of penalties in place.
He can't cross state-lines.
Can't be in possession of a firearm.
(If someone came into Bad Wraps and left a gun in the bathroom, for example, Slayton would go back to federal prison. If he went for a ride in a car with someone who had a gun in the trunk, and they got pulled over, Slayton would go back to federal prison.)
He'd been petitioning for the end of his parole for years.
Food as a Verb gladly wrote a glowing character reference. Former US Sen. Bob Corker is friends with Bryan, too.
In the past, his probation had been denied, over and over.
Until Thanksgiving.
On Monday, federal judge Travis McDonough signed documents terminating Bryan's probation.
He was finally — and fully — free.
"I am free," he said on Friday. "This is the day I am free."
It's difficult to put into words the feeling of freedom after 36 years of restraint.
"Since 1989," he said.
For Bryan, it looked like this:
One unending smile.
"I'm smiling so much, my lips are chapped," he said.
He took his mom to Bojangles. Asked a stranger to record a video while he passed the judge's letter over to his mom, who'd visited him every year, often with his daughter, driving through the night just for a few hours of visitation.
He's got plans to visit Atlanta, maybe North Carolina or the beach or Biloxi. Who knows. Anywhere is now an option. Maybe Bad Wraps can find a foothold there.
His food truck still operates. (The MLK Ave. restaurant is gone.)
Anyone out there interested in catering with Bad Wraps?
Bryan would love to talk with any Food as a Verb friend interested in a party, celebration or event.
Email him at badwrapincar@gmail.com. On Facebook: BadwRAPsINC.
Maybe even ask him to tell his story.
"Freedom," he said again. "I am free. This is the day I am free."
- Tickets remain for Thursday's barbecue, lecture and discussion at Little Coyote, winner of a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand.
It's called "Real Smoke: a Brief History of Barbecue."
Don't miss Dr. Mark Johnson, local professor, historian and author, tell the barbecue stories you've always wanted to hear.
What role did barbecue play in Jacksonian politics?
How do class, race and power factor into Southern barbecue?
What forces wanted to make barbecue illegal?
How important is bacon to American culture?
Plus, he'll be joined by Chef Erik Niel for a conversation on the role of barbecue in their personal and professional lives.
Get your tickets here:
And thanks to our friend Patty Leon at The Pulse for the recent and wonderful story!
- Our friend Tim Moore of TimEats is hosting a fabulous Food Street event as part of Mainx24 this weekend.
"It's an open street event," he said, "where we're inviting nearly a dozen food vendors, all representing unique cultures, flavors and street foods.
"And they're all based here in Chattanooga."
Like chefs Sujata Singh of Spice Trail and Kenyatta Ashford of Neutral Ground.
"And we'll have some relatively new folks to the food scene as well. It's going to a real melting pot," Tim said.
Profits will go towards the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. The goal of the event, Tim said, is to "create affordable opportunities for the Chattanooga community to engage in unique food experiences."
Tickets and more info can be found here.
- Finally, this Sunday, we're doing something we've never done before.
Getting our dinner from the woods.
See you then.
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
On the day after Thanksgiving, Bryan Slayton checked his mailbox.
Inside was a letter he never thought would come.
A letter he'd been waiting 36 years to receive.
We first met Bryan in 2023. He's the kind of guy that lights up when you walk in a room, which makes you light up, too. Kind, inviting, generous with hugs and daps and jokes — he became an instant friend.
At the time, he owned Bad Wraps: his own food truck and brick-and-mortar restaurant — housed on MLK Ave. next to Calliope — that served Slayton's own wraps — steak, shrimp, beef, chicken, salmon, veggie — and seven varieties of fries and his own banana pudding.
As we wrote back in 2023 in This Restaurant Tastes Like Freedom:
"He's been making wraps for years. But most of the time, he never had a proper kitchen. Hell, he didn't even have utensils.
"'We used a Comet lid for a cheese grater,' he said."
Before opening Bad Wraps, Bryan, who grew up in the Westside, had spent 31 years in federal prison, locked up on drug charges.
Yes, he sold dope.
Nearly four decades ago.
And all of his charges were non-violent.
In federal prison, he watched a string of 31 Christmases go by. Thirty-one Thanksgivings. Thirty-one Easters. Saw his daughter take her first steps in the prison visiting room in Atlanta.
(He was 21 when he was sentenced. She'd just been born.)
He learned to cook in prison. The idea of Bad Wraps was born in the federal penitentiary.
Released in 2020, he re-entered society on probation: a quasi-version of incarceration with multiple tripwires of penalties in place.
He can't cross state-lines.
Can't be in possession of a firearm.
(If someone came into Bad Wraps and left a gun in the bathroom, for example, Slayton would go back to federal prison. If he went for a ride in a car with someone who had a gun in the trunk, and they got pulled over, Slayton would go back to federal prison.)
He'd been petitioning for the end of his parole for years.
Food as a Verb gladly wrote a glowing character reference. Former US Sen. Bob Corker is friends with Bryan, too.
In the past, his probation had been denied, over and over.
Until Thanksgiving.
On Monday, federal judge Travis McDonough signed documents terminating Bryan's probation.
He was finally — and fully — free.
"I am free," he said on Friday. "This is the day I am free."
It's difficult to put into words the feeling of freedom after 36 years of restraint.
"Since 1989," he said.
For Bryan, it looked like this:
One unending smile.
"I'm smiling so much, my lips are chapped," he said.
He took his mom to Bojangles. Asked a stranger to record a video while he passed the judge's letter over to his mom, who'd visited him every year, often with his daughter, driving through the night just for a few hours of visitation.
He's got plans to visit Atlanta, maybe North Carolina or the beach or Biloxi. Who knows. Anywhere is now an option. Maybe Bad Wraps can find a foothold there.
His food truck still operates. (The MLK Ave. restaurant is gone.)
Anyone out there interested in catering with Bad Wraps?
Bryan would love to talk with any Food as a Verb friend interested in a party, celebration or event.
Email him at badwrapincar@gmail.com. On Facebook: BadwRAPsINC.
Maybe even ask him to tell his story.
"Freedom," he said again. "I am free. This is the day I am free."
- Tickets remain for Thursday's barbecue, lecture and discussion at Little Coyote, winner of a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand.
It's called "Real Smoke: a Brief History of Barbecue."
Don't miss Dr. Mark Johnson, local professor, historian and author, tell the barbecue stories you've always wanted to hear.
What role did barbecue play in Jacksonian politics?
How do class, race and power factor into Southern barbecue?
What forces wanted to make barbecue illegal?
How important is bacon to American culture?
Plus, he'll be joined by Chef Erik Niel for a conversation on the role of barbecue in their personal and professional lives.
Get your tickets here:
And thanks to our friend Patty Leon at The Pulse for the recent and wonderful story!
- Our friend Tim Moore of TimEats is hosting a fabulous Food Street event as part of Mainx24 this weekend.
"It's an open street event," he said, "where we're inviting nearly a dozen food vendors, all representing unique cultures, flavors and street foods.
"And they're all based here in Chattanooga."
Like chefs Sujata Singh of Spice Trail and Kenyatta Ashford of Neutral Ground.
"And we'll have some relatively new folks to the food scene as well. It's going to a real melting pot," Tim said.
Profits will go towards the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. The goal of the event, Tim said, is to "create affordable opportunities for the Chattanooga community to engage in unique food experiences."
Tickets and more info can be found here.
- Finally, this Sunday, we're doing something we've never done before.
Getting our dinner from the woods.
See you then.
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
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