King of Soul located in Ferguson’s downtown entertainment district is serving up some good old-fashioned soul food. After three years of serving collard greens, mac & cheese, and some fried chicken, the owner and head chef Yolanda King says having a servant’s heart is a part of God’s plan for her.
The Ferguson community is a dear place to the Jennings’ native. “I want to be a part of rebuilding Ferguson after everything that has happened here,” said King.
“I know we bring something special to this community”
The items on King of Soul’s menu bring back that nostalgia of Sunday dinner, a feeling the owner says is missing in today’s households. She said the tradition of sitting down at the dinner table is a thing of the past and there is a need for it.
Proudly saying as she talks about her childhood King said, “This is food for the soul”.
King of Soul is a place of royalty. The purple and gold decor sets off the intimate space allowing folks to have close conversations with one another while enjoying a good meal. King wanted to play into her last name by representing what she and her family stand for. However, she playfully said that a lot of Omega Psi Phi fraternity members visit her restaurant making King of Soul their ‘house’.
Folks from all over the region come in for her collard greens, fried catfish, and mac & cheese, King said she can’t keep enough of her family’s recipe’s mac & cheese recipe in the restaurant. But my favorite item is the fried green tomatoes. Most restaurants fry them in cornmeal. However, King’s recipe offers something different. She fries hers in a seasoned flour batter and adds a creamy dipping sauce on the side.
For the folks who want to experience that deep south cooking, she has black-eyed peas and great northern beans.
“I want to create an atmosphere that mimics how I grew up. My family would sit around playing cards and listening to music, while the kids were outside playing. But everything was centered around food,” said the owner.
King uses the recipes her family used growing up.
However, soul food is not the only thing King of Soul brings to the Ferguson community. Tuesday evenings is karaoke night, and Wednesday through Thursday is designated for live music.
Things weren’t always on the up for King. The first two years her restaurant opened were during the Covid-19 pandemic. She was only allowed to have take-out or call-in orders, and she struggled to find employees. Yet, she said there was a blessing in it all. She says that her landlord understood the crisis she was in as a new restaurant owner and decreased the rent. She also had a chance to work out new restaurant kinks without the stress of the restaurant being fully open.
“I had the chance to move at a pace that didn’t cause extra stress if the restaurant was fully opened,” said King.
Through the ups and downs of a restaurant owner, the long days starting at 7:00 am and ending at 11:00 pm, King wouldn’t trade it in for the world. On those days when she feels overwhelmed because she has sacrificed time with her family she looks out at her restaurant and feels nothing but gratitude.
“It makes me happy to see all these people come here to eat my food,” said King.
She advises up-and-coming entrepreneurs to have a love and passion for the service they are providing because there are days when it is just you working and putting your all into keeping your business afloat.
The mother of two and grandmother of four says King of Soul is there to help her family get a head start financially. The Kings own two other restaurants: the Hive Cafe just a few blocks down from King of Soul on S. Florissant Road, and DSquared Bistro in north city near Fairground Park.
‘We weren’t taught how to create or maintain generational wealth in my generation,” said King.
King is thinking about expanding. She hopes to have a larger building, and says right now they are bursting at the seams, but that it’s a good thing. King of Soul reminds her of Cheers. It’s the place where everyday people can come and hang out in a chill and relaxed atmosphere. She has regulars that she knows by name and is looking forward to meeting and serving even more potential regulars to the King of Soul.
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
