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“We just couldn’t let Mother’s Day go without being recognized,” said Tyrus Lockart, known as the “King of Hype” and business partner of owner, Greg Payne. “Every year we do something for mothers.”
Last year the club released around 40 to 50 balloons for anyone who wanted to honor their mother who is no longer around. The club also organized a Mother’s Day dinner where men from the community served the women.
In September 2019, a fire broke out that collapsed most of the building’s roof. There were no injuries in the blaze, however, the club’s Nicholas Road location has since been shut down for repairs.
“We’re just on a standby right now,” Lockhart said. “They’re working on it but we just wanted to do (the Mother’s Day event) by the spot that people are used to coming to … We’re going to let this pandemic go all the way down before (reopening). We’re going to let this play through, be safe, then we’ll reopen.”
Refusing to let the club’s holiday traditions die, Lockhart and Payne came up with the drive-thru rose idea to reach as many local mother’s as possible while staying safe.
“We’ll give away a rose just to let you know we appreciate you as a mother,” Lockhart said. “If your mother is not here, still come get a rose for the symbolization of your mother.”
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Lockhart asked anyone coming to the rose drive-thru to not get out of their car and to follow all the social-distancing orders in place by the state.
Staying true to their party spirit, Lockhart and Payne have an annual competition to see who can bring the most people to their birthday party at the club. Unable to celebrate their birthdays in the club because of the fire, Lockhart said they are putting their competitiveness into Mother’s Day to see how many moms they can invite to pick up roses.
Lockhart, a Dayton native who moved to Atlanta for 15 years, returned to his hometown after his mother had back surgery. After moving back, he connected with Payne to start promoting the club.
“I’m a mama’s boy,” Lockhart said. “I came back to take care of my mom … Really we just want to get out for the mothers to let them know that we cannot let this just go by without recognition.”
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