“font-family: Verdana;”>“I started cooking at 10, and by the time I was 12 or 13 I was getting down,” JoJo Davis, owner of the Shrimp Shack soul food restaurant, said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I started cooking whole full-fledged meals for the entire extended family, 15 people – Turkey, dressing, greens and yams. I was in the house when everyone else would be outside. I just loved to cook. I didn’t even learn to ride a bike until two years ago.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Davis “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>started working for her father’s fish house at the tender age of 14, and by 19 she had a restaurant of her own. She took a hiatus to “have some babies,” but for the past 12 years the Shrimp Shack has been dishing it.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>While shrimp is on the menu, Shrimp Shack is more than the name suggests.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“They love these greens, that spaghetti, the shrimp and the fish,” Davis said. “And the fried chicken – that’s what we went to the Steve Harvey Hoodie Award s for was the chicken.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Simply staying open is a big thing for small business, and Davis was quick to point out where her help comes from.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Honestly, God deserves all of the credit,” Davis said. “I would tell anyone starting their own business, ‘If you believe that this is what God called you to do, he didn’t call you to close up.’”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>So with the support of her husband Max and NINE children, JoJo is building her brand. In addition to her restaurant that serves nearly 1,000 each week, Davis is celebrating the one-year anniversary of her line of seasoning.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I’m not going to say it hasn’t been challenging, but you have to take the ‘you can’t’ out of the vocabulary,” Davis said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And she views the opportunity to serve the more than 30 items on her menu each day – and season line that includes 10 varieties – to be a blessing.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We are not just here to feed your stomach, we are here to feed your soul too,” Davis said. “And hopefully when you eat the food, you can feel the love that we put into it when you put it into your mouth. I tell my staff, ‘When you are cooking, act like you are cooking for someone you love.’”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>It was that notion and an unusual opportunity that led her to concert catering.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Davis “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>was an extra in the movie Up in The Air that was filmed here in St. Louis and was utterly disgusted with the food being served on set.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It was like they had dumped out the trash can and laid it on the table for us to eat,” Davis said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>So she used her connections to get signed onto cater Tyler Perry’s most recent run that stopped at the Chaifetz Arena. She’s been the exclusive caterer for the urban events there ever since.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The staff of the tour told me that Mr. Perry would stay in his dressing room,” Davis said, recalling her first gig as a concert caterer. “But after dinner he came to me and said, ‘Baby girl, you did your thing’ and gave me a high five.’ Who knows when some of these celebrities who are on the road have had their last home-cooked meal? So I want them to feel like their mama made them dinner that night.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Thanksgiving flavor “font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Because of her husband and nine children, Thanksgiving dinner at the Davis house resembles the menu at her restaurant. But for those taking their first stab at a holiday meal, she offers some helpful insight to avoid dinner disaster.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Start with a turkey, but don’t do dressing if you are a beginner,” Davis said. “Do mashed potatoes and of sweet potatoes, do baked sweet potatoes. All you have to do is put that in the oven with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon and nutmeg and do some green beans, and you’ve got a meal.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Shrimp Shack will be frying and smoking turkeys this year for those culinary-challenged individuals who want a home-cooked Thanksgiving experience, but Davis says it won’t take long to catch on to cooking.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“When you graduate from your first meal, next year you can take it into your yams, instead of green beans you can make you some fried cabbage – I ain’t gonna take you to greens yet, because you’re not ready. And then you can make you some macaroni, and I’ll take you into your ham, you are steady adding – but next year you will have our cookbook to help you out.”
The
Shrimp Shack is located at 8624 Natural Bridge and is open seven
days a week. Call 314-426-3333 or visit
“http://www.shrimpshackgrill.com/”>www.shrimpshackgrill.com
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