Nicole Shomidie-Copp of 217 Foodies speaks about the popularity of the Facebook group, and being an admin for groups such as 217 Boozers (nightlife), 217 Java Sweets and Bakers (including coffee), 217 Bosses (business owners), and 217 What the Health, (health-based, sharing doctor recommendations, suicide prevention, mental health, and veterans resources).
Transcribed by AI with human review for readability.
Jeff Williams:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Jeff Williams. In the studio today is somebody who has become… through a Facebook group, right? So, it's a group. She's the queen. She's got it dialed in with 217 Foodies. That's correct, right… 217 Foodies?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
That is correct. That's where it all started.
Jeff Williams:
That's where it all started. Nicole Shomodie-Copp, welcome to Community Voices.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Hello and thank you.
Jeff Williams:
Do you have like 67,000? What's the amount of followers you guys have now?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Well, I think for foodies, we're up to getting near 68,000.
Jeff Williams:
68,000!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
And we've partnered off into some other groups as well that have different functions and purposes that probably overall, we're probably over 100,000 for the total of five groups that we have.
Jeff Williams:
The 5 groups. So, what are all the groups that you have?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Foodies started it out first. So, we're on our 6th year of that. Started out as a group of food nerds. A friend of mine, Tony, created the group and he said, hey, we were… just during COVID sharing recipes… and trying to support who's open so we can eat. Then it became like, well, I'll share this recipe with this friend. They joined the group and so on and so on. And then it just took on a form of its own.
Jeff Williams:
It blew up, man.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
We were loving it because it was all local based. It's pretty much maintained to be spam free. So, there's not a lot of ads or junk in the feed and just my mouth usually running!
Jeff Williams:
Right, Yeah, definitely. (Laugh)
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
From there the following year, I was like, you know, everybody was still getting opened back up. And so I was like, well, what about the bars and the bands? You know, a lot of bars serve food, but the ones that don't, they need some love too. So, we branched off into the 217 Boozers. 17,000 with that one right now.
Jeff Williams:
That’s…. I mean, that's great! That's great right now!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
So that was a good resource for the nightlife and bars and bands and stuff to branch out and advertise where they're playing and all that stuff… for gigs. From there, we went to a coffee drinkers’ group, the 217 Java Sweets and Bakers and that kind of thing. So that was headed up by one of our foodies members who said; “Hey, they should have their own showcase. Right?”… We did that. Then we've got a 217 Bosses group that is strictly just for business owners to kind of like barter back and forth with each other with businesses that they're supporting… like… “Who's doing your paving? Who's doing your window washing?” and that kind of thing. So that has been really (good) resource for them.
Jeff Williams:
I was going to say… that's a good resource for them without getting caught up in everything.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Cool exchanges through there because you'll see like somebody (messages), “Oh, I ran out of medium styrofoam cups! Does anybody have something they can run to me?” And they take care of each other. There's a lot of good community people in there doing that. Just within this last year, we decided to branch off and try a 217 What the Health (group). And it is a health-based group for resources for everything from, you know, “Who's your favorite Dr. for this or that?” There are suicide resources, mental health resources, veterans links and resources. It's just a little bit of everything. And it's kind of been building up in this last year. And it's been, we're at about almost 3,000 members with that. But it's really picked up a lot in the last few months.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, that's super cool because it might not be thousands and thousands, but for the group of people, that's a really important resource. Yeah, I didn't know you had the one for the coffee! But I've only had coffee in my mouth like 3 times in my life. I've spit it out twice! (Laughter)
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Well, in all fairness, I mean, it's got some links for like your herbal teas and stuff like that. And then our local bakers, it's good for them too. Oh, yeah, Home chefs. They like to showcase their goods and get them out there. So, we like to get behind that.
Jeff Williams:
So do you, I don't know if you really track much stuff like that, but it goes over Pittsfield would be part of it. Is that correct? And Quincy's then still would be part of it too?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
We have some audience out that way. We can track it and see where people are coming from. And we really are trying to bridge out, especially with some of the other, the smaller groups trying to push that and get them involved as well, because 217 goes broader than I ever remembered when I was younger. So I definitely like to try to include them. And it's a matter of us as the admins also trying to find people who we can reach out to and say, hey, do you want to share this group? Because it's for your area as well. A lot of people think it's, you know, Springfield foodies. We're really trying hard to branch out as much as possible.
Jeff Williams:
Right, Well, every now and then I see somebody's like, that's not a Springfield….! And it's like, dude, it's not a… 217 isn't (just) Springfield…. sometimes. You know, it's like, I'm sure you've got to corral. Well, I've seen where you have to kind of corral people (in and) say, hey, it's okay, chill! Chill out a little bit! We're just talking about food. We don't have to get too….
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
There's some passionate folks out there.
Jeff Williams:
There's some passion, man. There is some passion! So yeah, then on the other side, I guess it would go over to like Danville (on east side of) the state, but not quite up to like Peoria, Bloomington or 309, you know, so that's…
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
We've gotten some 309 shares. We encourage the people… especially with foodies, people who travel. I do it all the time. Even if I go out of the country, I was sharing things for when I went to the Dominican Republic. So I'm like, go ahead and show us what you're eating! That's what it's for. We love that! And it gives people ideas. People are … every week … asking, “What can I get in Peoria?” or “What's good in Bloomington?” So there's people that love to eat up there. So go ahead and share it!
Jeff Williams:
Let's cross share that. Yeah, definitely. Dominican Republic?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
When I went there, I was sharing food pics when I was on vacation. You're supposed to be taking a break. But it doesn't happen so well with me! (Laughter) And I was amused by like seeing fresh lobsters just laid out on this buffet for every everybody's …. What? … Lobster here is like the delicacy! Not there! It's just laying all over! It's just all over! (Laughter) I'm definitely big on trying new foods now. I know that I tried probably a dozen things at that point in being over there, but I couldn't tell you what they were.
Jeff Williams:
Right.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
I'm a visual leader too. I see something. I'm like, oh, that looks great!
Jeff Williams:
Let's try that. Yeah, I'm not necessarily remember the name.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
No, not at all.
Jeff Williams:
I'm like that. When you first started it, I'm sure you were just like, okay, cool. Let's just… I just want to get this group together.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Just a group of food nerds. My buddy, like I said, invited us in… a couple of us, and we noticed the increase in members. So it's like, oh, let's have a couple more people sit in and moderate. But everybody kind of wanted to be the silent partner. Because the group creator, Tony, a good friend of mine, he never wanted to be that vocal. So he just said, do what you need to do and run with it! So, being (such) a social person as I am, got too used to putting it out there. Sharing everything and talking about this and that. And I'm like, this looks good, so let's post that. This person likes this, so we'll talk about that. I just got to end up being the voice somehow, and I didn't intend for that to happen, but people were paying attention, and for some reason, they were listening to me! So, I kind of did take the ball and run with it as far as being the advocate and just showing people the ropes and what's in Springfield, because we've got a lot of great food, especially in Springfield, and people don't believe me!
Jeff Williams:
It actually… I do… Sometimes I'm like, wait a minute. I haven't been here. I haven't been here. I haven't been here.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
I still have a list of things that I have not been to and had probably had them on there for like the last five years. And I just can't get to everything.
Jeff Williams:
It's hard.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
It's hard to give up your favorite.
Jeff Williams:
You've got some name recognition because like with your dad, it helped with like… you know… I knew your dad Mickey like way, way back. And for people who don't know, Micky (Shomidie), your dad, I mean, if that's cool to, you know, talk about some. Now is he in bands like… he was in Nasty Nasty. Was he (in) bands (other) than that?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
His first bands back in the early 80s. It might have even been in the 70s after I was born. He had one called Stud! I don't know much about that history. But from there he went on to like Tuff Luck.
Jeff Williams:
I remember Tuff Luck, yeah, for sure!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Then went from Nasty Nasty and then they formed with some members of Rock House and became House of Nasty.
Jeff Williams:
Yep, I remember that too.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
He's had a little bit of transition throughout the time, but he's always been himself otherwise.
Jeff Williams:
Oh yeah. Well, like I remember. when we first started playing, it was by the (Illinois) State Fairgrounds kind of off Sangamon (Avenue), and so it must have been either the Main Gate, or Frannie’s? It was one of those two, and it must have been kind of like an all-day showcase sort of thing. Like I said, this was early on. We just played like a handful of shows outside of just playing our house. They were… I remember they were the first band where I was like, OH! These dudes are living… Yeah. They're like… They really did, because everything I saw before that, and they were more like in the metal side, and we were kind of more coming up somewhat in the punk rock side of things. But I remember seeing, and I was like, these dudes aren't messing around, man. They really are… they're owning it! Where a lot of times people, you know, they have... They got (be) a little bit more conservative, I guess you'd say, or something. Then they've got like other jobs that they got to do. But those dudes were like, they were living it. And I loved it, man!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
As soon as he got up out of bed and his feet hit the floor, he put on his eyeliner or painted his nails and he was ready to go. He's the rock star!
Jeff Williams:
It was.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
That was him.
Jeff Williams:
It was cool though, too, because as I'd see him, you know, like all those guys, that is so cool because they were straight up owning it all the time. And it wasn't like a It wasn't like … a front. So anyhow, I just really appreciated that. Yes.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
And that was one of my… that's why I'm really big on original music too, because my dad wrote a lot of his own songs. They did a lot of cover stuff, don't get me wrong, but he had some really good songs.
Jeff Williams:
Oh yeah, they definitely.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
And it's still available on Touch Tunes Jukebox now.
Jeff Williams:
Oh is it?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Yeah.
Jeff Williams:
That's good for people out there to know too, man. Check out Nasty Nasty! Those guys are on fire, man, for sure. Okay, so back to 217 Foodies and some other...
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
217 What the Health.
Jeff Williams:
What the Health. Okay, so that's a good one for people if they want to check that one out.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
It's been really cool. And I mean, a lot of it is re-shared information that places already post themselves, but... You still want to get as much outreach as possible when you're trying to spread awareness for things. You know, we just kind of give it a little boost and hope for the best with it and hopefully it'll help somebody.
Jeff Williams:
It becomes a good resource for people. Sometimes people, if they're on there, they don't, you know, they can't search for every doggone thing. They don't have time. So if it's able to get to a place that has that broader reach, so that's a really good.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
It's good to lean on that for educational purposes too, because there's people that'll bring something to my attention even. And I'm like, oh, what is that? Let me Google this and find out more about it. And I'm like, oh, okay. And I understand. And then there are people out there that will interact. And it's like, okay, people aren't alone. So it's good to know.
Jeff Williams:
And so, like when you did, like when you first were, it was kind of during COVID, like you said, right, for (217) Foodies was during COVID. When you first started to see it, when it did take off like within the first… like, right away, or was it kind of like this slow build?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
I would say at the beginning it was maybe within six months we noticed there was something trending about it. And that was fueling my fire, wanting to interact with more people. So, I was having fun with it in the beginning. I was doing polls like every week of, you know, just different goofy questions, food related, and I kind of started running out of materials about I would switch into just topics and go from there. And it was just the simple stuff as far as people talking about, does your cheese sauce on your horseshoe go over your fries or under your fries? You want it on the side. And again, people get passionate and one way is the only way.
Jeff Williams:
It's the only way until these people feel there's no doubt.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
We've had some good contributors from the locals and the feedback was what kept me going and keeps me engaged with it because One of my favorite examples was, I think it was about into the second year of it, Lulu's Diner on 9th Street. Oh yeah, They, great people, love them to pieces and also great food. So they were just getting up and running and I had eaten there and made comments about how wonderful I thought their French toast was. Talked about their French toast for like 2 weeks. I got a message from the owner. He's like, our profits on French toast were up like 30% because as you were talking about it! So I was like, some people DO listen! I was like, okay, there might be something to this. And there's been a lot of that with businesses that have said, I think that we kept our doors open a lot because of (217) Foodies. And that's very humbling.
Jeff Williams:
Oh yeah. A lot of different places that have their people. It is kind of cool how food does create this, community, different areas, different people have their communities where they have their favorite places. Once again, in the studio with Nicole Shomidie-Copp with 217 Foodies and...
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
217 Boozers, 217 Java Sweets and Treats, 217 Food and Bosses. It's actually shortened, it's 217 F&B. That is strictly for business owners only, so there's no outside member engagement. And then 217 What the Health?
Jeff Williams:
Foodies is crazy.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Foodies is the main. We have a lot of fun. There's 12 of us who admin.
Jeff Williams:
Oh really? You have 12 admins? Okay.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Take care of things and we can pretty much predict how things go on a daily basis. What time… who's going to post and what not. We've tried to really keep the spam and duplications down and I'm still trying to keep engaged with people as far as I'm always the contest runner. So I've got a contest running now. We've got a $100 gift card for Indigo up for grabs and a pair of tickets for Donny B's for a comedy show. So that was donated by Mike over there at Indigo and he's been great. He donates every month for the last few years. So that's been awesome. And our Christmas contests are always a big deal. So we try to be very resourceful with the food too. We always do special occasions, featured posts and things like that. Like we've got Easter coming up and St. Patty's Day. It's like, here's the tab for all the corned beef specials and all your shenanigans! And then we'll have Easter dinners, Mother's Day, Father's Day. There's always something every month featured in that tab that we keep up top of the page. And we encourage people to, you know, pitch in and if they know something, go ahead and list it for us.
Jeff Williams:
Right on.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
We hope for that.
Jeff Williams:
Is there a place that's like the smallest or furthest off the grid kind of a place that you've been to because of seeing it (talked about on 217 Foodies) and (you’re like) “I'm going to go over here and try this”?
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Yes, it's a place in, it's by Lake Shelbyville. And I never know how to say the place. It's like Earl's Smokehouse or IrL's and Roses Smokehouse.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, Rosie and IrL's Smokehouse in Findlay, Illinois. Like “Earl's” but spelled like I-R-L apostrophe S.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
It was a little bar off of the beaten path and they had like the best BBQ ever. I found it on there and somebody suggested it. Again, my bucket list is pretty broad.
Jeff Williams:
Well, that's cool. Like there's (a place) in Naples, Illinois, that Evandy’s Boatel! Like (Boat Hotel).
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
I'm dying to go there. I didn't know it was a thing.
Jeff Williams:
It's cool. I think originally it was like a boat hotel! And it's not (a boat anymore). And actually, I talked to my mom (Alvina) about it! I was like, there's this place…. And she's like, oh, yes! She remembered it because she used to work, way back… for Illinois Bell, right? She said she used to get calls for that place in Naples, Illinois, in a tiny little town right on the (Illinois) river!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
But it's like, yeah.
Jeff Williams:
Definitely, if you do get the cheese curds, man, it's…
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Like, I love cheese, but for some reason I am not a cheese curds, mozzarella stick kind of girl. I don't understand that!
Jeff Williams:
You know what? I don't like cheese curds or mozzarella sticks either! They're the exception! I'm not… no pressure, no pressure, But I was like, my goodness! These things are crazy! Anyhow, I'm not trying to get too crazy with that!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
I never really say no to many things. I mean, I live well with my food, so.
Jeff Williams:
Right? All right. Well, Nicole, thanks a lot for coming by, for sure.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Thank you for having me.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, it's been great. It's great to talk about all your things. You know food, talk about food… Now I'm hungry, doggone it!
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Universal, and it is a necessity, so go eat something good!
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, definitely. All right, thanks a lot.
Nicole Shomidie-Copp:
Thanks.
Jeff Williams:
Community Voices is a production of NPR, Illinois.
