Ed Wiley III spent more than 30 years as a journalist, working as a newspaper and magazine reporter, congressional press secretary, communications manager, and most recently as the Managing Editor at BET News. In 2006, he moved to North Carolina, and two years later returned to his love for cooking. He and his wife, Yalem, opened their first restaurant in Raleigh, NC. Wiley attributes much of what her learned in the kitchen to his father, the legendary saxophonist Ed Wiley Jr., who developed his culinary chops cooking for bandmates on the Chitlin’ Circuit during the days when many of the restaurants were segregated.

The Prime Smokehouse: Barbecue & Beyond, which moved to Rocky Mount, NC, in 2013, has been ranked No. 1 on most online social media outlets in the city since it was established. In fact, Yelp recently named Prime the Top Dining Destination for Travelers to North Carolina, and the restaurant has been featured in various publications and television programs.