posted May 7, 2008
So the Yellow Deli is back in business. Somehow I am not surprised. Cults always seem to come back around for a second helping. However, Chattanoogans must remember that this group has a history of abuse of members, isolation of members from their families, taking advantage of lonely young people and the communalization of members’ wealth as they surrender their assets to be controlled by the group.
So should anyone be surprised that they have opened their store near UTC? Here is a place where there are lots of non-religious individuals. Here is a place where people are lonely and searching for meaning.
The only thing students will find in the comfortable surroundings, good food and nice study atmosphere is a web. Just like a spider hides its web from insects venturing by so the Yellow Deli looks to catch unwary individuals and suck them in.
The history of this group and their teachings include that black slaves were being punished because of the curse of Ham in the Bible. They believe Jews are doubly cursed. When dealing with stubborn children they taught, “No other discipline will conquer except the rod. Any other approach that avoids physical pain is useless.”
Several parents in Chattanooga were cut off from their children who had joined this cult. Some had to go to extreme measures to rescue their misguided youth from this group that tried to thwart their efforts at every turn.
I for one am not welcoming this cult back to Chattanooga. We have done just fine without them for 20 years. Research the “Twelve Tribes” (the real name and teachings of this group) for yourself and see the history.
Cliff Sarbel
sarbelcliff@yahoo.com
* * *
I'm too young to remember when the Yellow Deli was here in Chattanooga the first time. However, I make it a point never to do buisness with any type of "cult."
It's hard to find good sub sandwhiches around here, but it is possible. I don't care how good the food might be at Yellow Deli. They will never see a penny of my money.
Hopefully they will get run out of town. Chattanooga has enough problems without adding some freak cult to the mix.
Ryan Mitchell
Chattanooga
* * *
Gentle reader,
There is such a thing as freedom of religion in these United States.
Why is it that around here you must thump your bible the Chattanooga way or hit the highway?
Ike Conn
Hixson
* * *
Oh good grief, since when do we pick a place to eat based on the political views of the owners? And is it our business anyway?
I remember the Yellow Deli from the 70s and it was a cool trendy place to eat, nothing more. I did worry it was a fire trap, however, honestly, that's why I thought they shut down.
In all the times my friends and I ate there, I never felt pressured to listen to any "cult" views. I went for a great sandwich, and interesting atmosphere. Where on earth are you coming up with these strange ideas?
Dawn Devine
Harrison
* * *
I became a darned Yankee in late 1976, worked at the brand-spanking-new CHCBL, beginning just a few months after it opened. That old wedge-shaped building a block from us was a greasy spoon (I want to say Chow Hound?), before this crowd took it over.
Yeah, I loved the deli sandwiches, especially since there was so little good to eat here then that wasn't Southern cooking or steak/seafood houses. Good Chinese or Italian? Forget it. Don't get me wrong, I miss the old Black Angus to this day, and there was nothing like having that pie and a cup of coffee after having a good entree and veggies at Fehn's, nothing like it.
Somewhere during this time (late 1970s) I met a young woman. She had just recently broken bonds with the Yellow Deli, and was very fragile. Sparing you all the details, she and her co-workers were fed cheap hotdogs and water a couple times a day, couldn't even dream of a Reuben with pickle and chips, or one of those wonderful salads. They could only serve them, and minimum wage was a dream.
That man's teachings had simply zoned-in on a fragile ego and stomped it deeper into the ground.
I don't have an opinion on why some people reach a point where they have so little self-respect that they don't even feel they deserve all the things they see around them, which everyone else is enjoying. No, but I do have a very strong opinion on what justice should be for those who prey and profit from subjugating vulnerable types. It involves a stout limb, a sharp knife and a guilty posterior.
The Yellow Deli was driven from this town by a series of exposes in the old Chattanooga Times, as I recall. That being the case, why can't some enterprising young journalist, hungry to make a mark in a tough field, trace this group back to what it was doing, before it decided to move back to where it had been driven from?
Until then, you might want to tell your friends to look into the eyes of the waiters and waitresses and judge for yourselves whether they're happy, free people, or dependent drones, like I knew.
John R. Smickle
Chattanooga
jsbottomfeeder@juno.com
* * *
I am reminded of the inevitable villagers with torches scene in the Frankenstein movies when I read complaints about the Yellow Deli. Back in the 70's I visited their establishment a half dozen or more times. All I got was a darn good sandwich with no damage to my psyche.
Remember, this is America where freedom of speech and freedom of religion are guaranteed. Let's hope Chattanooga is less of a hick town than it was 30 years ago. Let 'em be.
H. S. Fry
Hixson
* * *
What naïve people have answered this opinion article? Did you just move here? The Yellow Deli is not a place to eat. It was not that 20 years ago and it is not anymore. The Yellow Deli is about control. It was a religious group that brought people into the fold and turned them against their families.
I know people who had to physically rescue family members from the cult before they left the country. It is people that those who wrote here that do not remember Jim Jones and his family cult that eventually all committed suicide.
The Yellow Deli is not the Jim Jones cult but there are lot similarities with control and alienating people from their families. The Yellow Deli is not just a sandwich shop. It was not one back then and it was not one now. If you the pain others suffered at the hands of these people who would not write the ridiculous opinion answers. Just naïve and sad you don't really know what happened but you are only interested in sandwiches.
I agree with Mr. Sarbel. We need to watch these people. And it is not about freedom of religion but anti-cult watch.
Johnny Franks
seechatt@yahoo.com
* * *
It's scary that we still have so many people in America who think that if your religious thought does not fit lock-step in line with theirs then you must be in a cult and you're going to hell. Oh, wait, I think the Taliban believes the same thing.
Last time I looked, we still have religious freedom in this country and thank God for it.
If you don't want to patronize the Yellow Deli, fine. That will leave more room for the free thinkers.
A. Hartzler
Brainerd
ahartzler@yahoo.com
* * *
The Yellow Deli is definitely making their presence known. I have attended several concerts recently, and after at least two of them, Yellow Deli youth were standing outside trying to hand out their "Twelve Tribes" literature to folks leaving the concert venue.
Their literature also "mysteriously" appeared in the Student Center at my church, right on top of our literature. I suppose they just slipped in when no one was around and left their materials. Naturally, the literature was disposed of immediately after discovery.
And then yesterday, at our wonderful Chattanooga Market, there was the Yellow Deli with the largest food booth in the venue. My husband and I were shocked to see them there, and we will be contacting the Market owners in hopes that the Yellow Deli will not be invited back as a vendor.
April Gordon
Soddy-Daisy
* * *
Just as Yellow Deli opens its doors to serve a void in the marketplace and a need at UTC, naysayers and bigots start hurling verbal bombs and character attacks.
I'm not affiliated with the religious group that runs the Yellow Deli, but I was one of their first and regular customers when they opened on Brainerd Road in the '70s.
I remember stopping by in either bell bottom jeans or leisure suits (hate to admit that one), and enjoying terrific deli food that was unmatched anywhere else in the city. The restaurant was spotless, and all customers were treated with courtesy and given attentive service.
I moved out of state shortly thereafter, so I'm not familiar with, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story."
However, I can tell you this. Accusations that this group is a cult must be dismissed out of hand.
It is my understanding the organization's communal homes in Chattanooga are open to the public, as is their restaurant. I've never known a cult to open its dwellings to the public for unannounced visitation. It just doesn't happen that way, Bub.
Whatever prejudice and bigotry existed here before the exit of the Yellow Deli apparently still exists. Somehow I think such mental laziness is a cult unto itself.
I've paid four visits to the new deli and I am quite impressed. Their restoration of the building at 737 McCallie is magnificent, the facility is spotlessly clean (just as I remember Brainerd Road), and all patrons are treated courtesy, respect, and an energetic smile.
This city could use more enterprises have the same enthusiastic dedication to quality, regardless of the nature of their business.
The service, I might add, was superb and the sandwiches glorious.
R. J. Johnson
Chattanooga
* * *
I stopped in to see the atmosphere created by renovating an ancient building by integrating old barn wood and painting murals, and I was amazed by the place. The service was polite, and the sandwich I tried (the 'Deli Flower' I believe) may just be the best tasting sandwich I have ever had, and the place was filled by groups of college students surrounding laptop computers and piles of books studying and conversing current events in the cozy confines of a handcrafted castle. I wondered why it was so quiet, and discovered it was probably because they refused to serve alcohol, and instead served (again) some of the best coffee I have ever tasted.
I've returned half a dozen times for these things, and get the distinct feeling it is an excellent restaurant with unmatched atmosphere; oddly I was never asked for my soul, but I was offered honey in my coffee which has, indeed, never happened before.
Maybe it's the honey doing the typing here, but for all the clubs and beer joints I have never seen criticized publicly by the above writers that cause so much misery and literal death, it seems odd in comparison that a sandwich and coffee joint filled with college students would invoke such fear in people. And to address the havoc it allegedly wreaked in the past, it's now operated by the children of those that were effectively run out by the progressive-impaired locals in the 70's, and I couldn't have hoped to meet more pleasant people inside.
If draft beer, cigarettes, and drug deals in the restrooms are not an issue to you with other establishments, but a college sandwich shop is. Maybe it's not the sandwich shop folks that need to relocate. In the mean time - join me for a great cup of joe sometime at the Yellow Deli, any hour of the day. They wouldn't even mind if you kept your tinfoil hat on.
C.W. Joel
Harrison
* * *
I doubt if the Chattanoogan has ever had as many responses to an opinion
at one time as the one on the Yellow Deli. It is amazing to me, but that
influence is what makes this cult so dangerous.
It's been years ago, in the mid-1960s I believe, I was asked to help a father get his daughter back from this cult. At that time I was a police officer. He had been trying to find his daughter for several days. The cult was keeping her hid out.
The father later got his daughter back. She had been brainwashed. It took a long time through therapy to get her straight.
Chattanooga was not the only one interested in the cult. They were
finally deported by the government (the leaders). The cult was part of
the Group organized by the so-called minister from Korea;.
They were in all sorts of businesses across the country. I forget the so-called minister's name, but he is the one back in Korea now that holds the big wedding ceremony every year and marries thousands of couples at the same time.
Before all these people who are supporting this cult get too involved, they should do a little research on the Yellow Deli. The library or the paper should be a place to start.
Ken Bowman
* * *
I had not formed an opinion at first but do remember the old Yellow Deli. So after reading the posts on the Chattanoogan.com I decided to do some research on the Twelve Tribes.
Perhaps all of the people that are responding that consider themselves "free thinkers" and downing the people with not so positive responses on the Yellow Deli might consider a little research themselves. They may find themselves enlightened a little bit and find that Chattanooga has not been the only town with a problem with these people.
Research helped me form an opinion on my own, so for the ones that say it is a cool, trendy place and nothing more, try a little research and see if you still think that way.
Grant Ashburn
* * *
I also have friends who had to physically rescue a brain-washed daughter from the clutches of Twelve Tribes (aka Yellow Deli) years ago. Anyone who doubts that this organization is a cult needs only to google "Twelve Tribes," "Yellow Deli," "Super Apostle" Elbert Eugene Spriggs (aka "Yoneq"), and more.
The web is full of information about this cult's practices across the country. And how convenient that the Yellow Deli is opening their new location near UTC, a quiet, comfortable place where impressionable kids will again become fair game.
Religious freedom? Far from it. Many of the folks who are writing in are familiar with this organization's past history, and their opinions should not be discarded as redneck, bible-thumping ravings. Otherwise, Chattanoogans are destined to again pay a very high price for those good sandwiches.
Linda Walker
llwalker@bellsouth.net
* * *
I usually do not agree with the politics or faith issues of Mr. Sarbel but the Yellow Deli is a cult. This is not about freedom of religion, people can believe what they want. I don't care. But this group is about control. They look nice and have good food but there are too many people who got out with bad stories.
Judge for yourself.
Debbie Rile
* * *
I want to congratulate those who have taken time to remind our city of the issues surrounding the Yellow Deli. I am a survivor of this cult. I know firsthand the things that were taught, and have no reason to suspect that anything has changed. In fact, from the research I have done, it certainly appears as if there is plenty of proof that this group spiraled further downward since leaving Chattanooga.
I urge everyone to do as the other writers have said. Research Twelve Tribes. Learn for yourself. Read the articles posted by former members – especially children of the leaders themselves who have escaped. You can easily find transcripts of teaching by Gene Spriggs (Yoneq or Yonig, as he is called by the cult). You can read for yourself the teaching about how the black race was born (past and present tense) to be servants. You can read for yourself the lashing out against women who are not obedient servants themselves. Read the stories of infant graves and multiple arrests – not only in the U.S. but in other countries as well.
You will see the names of people in these articles that are the very ones now here ”taking orders and busing tables.” Please do not be deceived. Perhaps you are a solid, strong individual who never saw anything then or now but a great sandwich being offered – The Yellow Deli never took on “strong” individuals, least not for long. Most people who had strength, true faith and a loving family never lasted long at the Yellow Deli. I count myself very blessed to have had all three.
I agree – their location close to UTC is no coincidence. They are actively seeking young, impressionable minds. Our pastor had to ask them to leave our church premises about this time last year when they first made their “come back” to Chattanooga public because they were standing right outside our doors handing out their literature to our youth.
Chattanooga, be warned, be wary and above all, be informed. Freedom of religion is priceless and precious, but so are the lives of our children, and their children as well. There is a vast, vast difference between true religion that honors and reveres God and a cult which imposes a form of slavery on its members and raises to exalted status a man with such questionable validity. Jim Jones? Maybe not, but I believe these followers would drink the Kool Aid if Yoneq/Yonig said “drink.”
And by the way, in addition to those cheap hotdogs and water, there was a near daily supply of split pea soup for the members before they were shuttled off for their 12 to 14 hour shifts in the delis.
D. Lance
ishisgirl@live.com
* * *
I suggest all do their own research. Google Twelve Tribes and don't stop with the groups own wikapeadia website.
A very telling account of what this group is about is a series of articles which were published in the Boston Herald back in 2001. Even one of the leaders own son is quoted on the atrocitities.
There is also well researched information on the lavish use by the leader (Srpiggs, a former carnival barker from Chattanooga) of the funds garnered by the organization.
I suggest one read before committing to saying the Yellow Deli is a harmless outfit.
Robert Purcell
* * *
Cults, those along the lines of Jim Jones and the People's Temple, et al., are dangerous. Those types of groups were and are criminal organizations.
But what evidence do these persons in the current thread to slander, libel, and belittle the current Yellow Deli?
So what if they are a "cult?" Freedom of religion and freedom to engage in lawful business are what I thought were the bedrocks of the conservative mind-set, not to mention the core values of our great county.
Persecution takes many forms.
Robin R. Flores
* * *
One would think that considering how Chattanooga has progressed as a town over the last 30 years that the return of the Yellow Deli would be a culmination of that progression and they would be welcomed back to town.
Judging by many of the comments I have read so far it's clear to me that my hometown is still full of intolerant, bigoted, and narrow-minded individuals.
Instead of spending time trying to run people out of town, how about we focus on trying to improve our schools and bringing jobs to this city. But that might mean being progressive and we can't have that now can we?
William T. Elliott
Coalmont
* * *
I hesitate to respond to this opinion article because so many people have already written but it bothers me to see so many half-truths and false assumptions. I feel compelled to respond.
The first unfounded accusation is that the Yellow Deli located near UTC only to take advantage of "lots of non-religious individuals and a place where people are lonely and searching for meaning." That is a very broad assumption about the student body at UTC. My oldest daughter starts there this fall and I think she is pretty well rounded. She isn't lonely or searching for meaning; she is simply attending a local college in order to further her studies as are most college students. The Yellow Deli will be grossly outnumbered at a rate of at least 10 to one by all of the Christian organizations on campus including, non-denominational Protestants, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, and numerous other Christian clubs and organizations. Do these organizations so poorly represent their beliefs that the only place students can find answers to their real life problems is from a "cult" in a sandwich shop?
Christians in the Bible Belt jump at the chance to expose a "cult" and are quick to deny them the same liberties that they themselves enjoy. The problem is that most define a cult as anyone who doesn't look, act, and worship just like they do. Every church claims to want prayer in the schools until they realize that it's not just their denominational beliefs that will be represented in those prayers. I wonder if some of the Mennonite community came down from Muddy Pond to sell their homemade bread, sorghum, and crafts at the Chattanooga Market would they be met with the same reception as the Yellow Deli? After all they are a cult because Mennonites don't allow their children to watch TV or attend movies and if they disobey they are quick to punish them by striking them with a rod.
If the truth about a group isn't enough to change your way of thinking why not throw in a story of how they are followers of Sun Myung Moon and their leadership was deported? All accounts of the Twelve Tribes that I read list Tennessee native Gene Spriggs as their founder and leader. Even with our new Homeland Security policies I don't think you can deport a U.S. citizen born in East Ridge. This kind of gross misstatement of facts does little to win educated people over to your line of rationale.
It is obviously far easier these days for people in the Bible Belt to tell us what they are against than to simply live by example as Jesus did. Hypocritical, bigoted, and politically motivated are the terms many use to describe today's church. The church is so out of touch with this upcoming generation it's no wonder that most young adults never return to it after high school. Could it be that the hurting needy people all around us can't hear the truth because of all the noise coming from the church itself?
Scott Pollard
RevScottie@gmail.com
* * *
I almost laughed as I read the responses to Mr. Sarbel’s article. I was confused on who were the bigots and the intolerants. Does the Yellow Deli have a right to exist in America? Yes. Does everyone have right in the United States to speak their mind? I thought so.
So for all of you who think that calling a cult a cult is somehow narrow minded, bigoted, and intolerant I would just remind you of two things. First, I have a right to speak and to speak the truth. You have a right to ignore it. Second, you also have right to ignore history. You can ignore the history of the Yellow Deli and other mindwashing, controlling, cults. Does anyone remember the People’s Temple and Jim Jones?
The people are different. The issues are slightly different. The control of young minds, brainwashing, separation from family and friends are still eerily the same. I would not be worried about the voices of reason that are calling Chattanooga to at least remember this group’s history. It was not a good one. They were not run out of town nor where they treated like Salem witches. Good people stood up and said, “not in our town will you lead others astray.” Funny thing happened right after that the group moved on to easier pickings. From some of the responses they have some good choices here in Chattanooga. What did P.T. Barnum say, “there’s a sucker born every minute.”
Jonathan Fickley
* * *
I have not visited the Yellow Deli and after reading information about the people running it I won't. This isn't about religious freedom and it isn't about a good sandwich. It's about me not allowing my money to be used to support a man who wants to enslave and control others.
The people spouting progression and free thinking and freedom of religion not to mention "it's just a sandwich" really need to think about the hypocrisy of what they're saying.
Where is the freedom and free thinking of an enslaved society? Where is the progression in believing blacks were born to be enslaved? It's sad that people will sell out for a good sandwich.
R. Smith
Chattanooga
* * *
I am a 57-year-old female who lived in Chattanooga for 50 years before moving to California. I miss many things about my home town, the arts district, the Aquarium, the Walnut St. Bridge where I walked, Coolidge Park, Signal Mountain where I lived, the beautiful river, the glorious blooming pear trees downtown in the spring, the dogwoods, the crisp fall air and beautiful fall colors. By the time I moved west, I was amazed by the progress the city had made during my lifetime.
I keep track of my hometown via chattanoogan.com. And unfortunately, I find that the beauty of the city and all the physical improvements made over so many years cannot obliterate the lingering ignorance and stupidity of many of the people who live there, as shown by the opinion letters regarding the Yellow Deli. Here we are in the year 2008, and some people are still stuck in 1969 bigoted mentality. Unbelievable.
To those who say this "cult" will "steal your children" and "brainwash" them, I say pa-leeze. If you are a decent parent who brings up your child properly, nothing and nobody will shake their beliefs. If they have questions or concerns, they will discuss them with you. If they don't, that says a lot about how you have raised your kids.
I remember the old Yellow Deli. You could get decent food there for a decent price. I had my first encounter with a sort of yogart parfait, with granola sprinkles on top. Delicious. When I'm back in town, I will check out the new place and enjoy a sandwich there for lunch.
Spreading fear is a dangerous tool for the ignorant. Intelligence overcomes it every time. Grow up, people.
Brenda Whiting
Huntington Beach, Ca.
* * *
This is in response to C W Joel. I think you said it best, why are people so afraid of these people when they do not know anything about these individuals except what they read on the internet?
I have been so glad they have been at the Chattanooga Market and I have been buying a sandwich there every Sunday. Not one time has anyone ever offered me a pamphlet or any mind altering propaganda. Just a nice sandwich and a friendly smile. There is a young lady there that takes the money that is so nice and pleasant and she certainly does not seem to be unhappy or held captive. She smiles and laughs and seems very intelligent in her conversation.
And I do not believe they had anything to do with Sun Young Moon in Korea either. After reading all these editorials I went to one of the websites and wrote to them asking questions about the "cult" accusations and got a very nice email back answering my questions.
Now would you rather your child or your loved ones be associated with a deli full of happy people or would you rather them be in jail for committing crimes and causing trouble? Mr. Joel, you are so right, you fear what you do not know and these people have made no effort to convert me, give me pamphlets, or change my life in any way. All they have done is feed me a good sandwich and be nice to me. And I do not leave there drunk or high and get in a car and drive.
When the reader calls the Chattanooga Market asking them to not let them come back I will be calling asking for them to stay. If you do not want to talk to them about religion then just eat and leave, they will not hold you hostage.
Linda Weathers
* * *
Having been a lifelong resident of Chattanooga, I am deeply disappointed to the responses about the Yellow Deli. I thought Chattanooga had grown past such ignorant lashing out. I guess I was wrong.
I too went to the original Yellow Deli and remember it having great sandwiches. I knew they were a religious group but no one ever tried to convert me. Pretty amazing to be in their own place and not making proselytizing high on their agenda. I can be in my own home and have other groups come to my place and try to convert me.
The original founders were looking for deeper meaning in their lives then is readily apparent in our culture. Look at almost any show on television to see that a life vacuous of meaning is being pushed upon us. And we lap it up. But these people wanted more, and they went to a source for that meaning, the Bible. You would think that would be lauded by people in these parts.
None of the people criticizing them actually have presented a sound argument whether their interpretation of the bible and Jesus' teachings are wrong. When they live as the Bible said the early Christians lived, the title cult is thrown at them. Of course, that band of early Christians would be branded as a cult today, and were treated as one back then. They weren't fed to the lions because the mainstream accepted them with open arms.
The proof of course is in the pudding. What kind of life do these people live? It is easy to tell. I ride my bicycle everyday by their house, where they leave the curtains open. I often see them about in the neighborhood. There doesn't seem to be restrictions on their movements-they are out and about. Women can go out by themselves. What I have seen of the women of the group I haven't detected any slavish obedience. They present themselves as strong and independent. I have been given no reasons to think otherwise.
I have been to the new Deli several times. If ever two hotdogs a day was standard fare for the workers that certainly is not true today. I see the Deli staff take hearty lunches. When they were working on their house before they moved in, I would witness picnics set up on the sidewalks for themselves. They do feed themselves well.
They are open, friendly, law abiding people who are raising their children to the values they find in the Bible. They look healthy and happy. The children seem happy and outgoing. I admire them for looking for greater meaning in this messed up world. That they are willing to do it when invariably narrowed-minded people will search for reasons to persecute them makes it doubly admirable.
With the crime, drugs and wanton behavior that is so prevalent these days, you would think Chattanooga would welcome people who live otherwise in our community. I, for one, do welcome them.
Colleen Carboni
* * *
I personally take offense at the words "ignorant" and Bible-thumping being used together in some of these comments. The Bible is a long and complex book and the serious student of it is well educated.
But I'd also like to point out that the people issuing warnings have not even used religion as their reason. We do not even know what denomination or even what faith these people hold.
Their warnings are not based on their
"ignorant" beliefs, but rather on the real danger the Yellow Deli presented
to our community at one time.
Decades have past since they were here before. Perhaps the organization does
operate differently, but a quick Google of them will show you how dangerous they were at one time. You know the saying "those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." If they have changed, I am nothing but glad, but the true ignorance is in ignoring their past.
Lisa Bluford
Hixson
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