Kevin Johnson has gone from dribbling to governing and now preparing or "fixing" soul food. In fact, Fixins Soul Kitchen, which he runs with his wife Michelle Rhee, has now expanded to 4 different cities.
Johnson spent 12 years playing in the National Basketball Association, mostly with the Phoenix Suns from 1988 to 2000 and then was elected mayor of Sacramento, Calif. twice from 2008 to 2016, and has also been a venture capitalist. Clearly Johnson, who was raised in Sacramento, is a doer, achiever, and fast learner.
When he retired from serving as mayor, he and his accomplished wife Michelle Rhee, who had served as chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public schools, and currently is a venture partner at EO Ventures, investing in education and workforce start-ups, decided that finally, they wanted to work on a joint business venture.
And then an idea struck the two of them, why not open a soul food restaurant together? Kevin Johnson's grandma loved to cook and he also wanted to create an option for more Black people to gain a steady, satisfying job and heighten wealth creation. And Michelle loved to prepare food and when on the road, she was always researching the best restaurants to dine in, turning herself into a foodie.
So in 2019 they opened Fixins Soul Kitchen in Sacramento, Calif. And that led to their expanding to Los Angeles, Tulsa and Detroit, comprising 4 Fixins Soul Kitchens, all company-owned, none franchised.
A former basketball star/mayor, and his wife, an educator/venture capitalist, are expanding their four soul food restaurants with plans to entering new cities in the near future.
To decide on their menu, the couple traveled on a 2-week tour across the South, opting to dine at every soul food eatery they could find. They chose the same menu items to compare each dish, and Johnson points out that he gained 10 pounds in his quest. And then they invited 8 chefs to Sacramento from around the nation for tastings.
So Fixins' menu is derived from those chefs as well as recipes from family and friends. Johnson said that soul food "is my roots. Soul Food is survival food."
Knowing that soul food isn't considered healthy, Johnson adds (all quotes are from him) that "our expectation is someone will not be eating at Fixins' every day, rather it's a place you come to once or twice a month to feed your soul." He adds, however, that its menu includes healthier fare and vegan options as well.
Johnson noted that the restaurant was mostly self-funded by the couple, augmented by one investment from a long-time friend. As a married couple operating a restaurant, Kevin oversees the operations, its culture, the expansion and management team, and Michelle focuses on HR and finance.
But operating a restaurant entails skills about food-ordering supply chains that didn't fall into either of the Johnson's roadmaps so how did they master it? Johnson says much learning was based on "trial and error. Once I lived through the impact of late deliveries, being shorted on product and charged too much for subs, I had to get smarter fast."
Expansion happened almost organically. Johnson's friend Shaq, the former Los Angeles Laker and TV announcer, was closing his eatery during the pandemic, so it was what Johnson terms a turnkey operation, with all the infrastructure including ovens and tables and chairs in place. They managed to open it in the middle of Covid, and kept it going.
Tulsa interested them, Johnson said, because they were "compelled by the history of Black Wall Street and were inspired by the community efforts around rebuilding that community and in vesting in entrepreneurs."
Detroit inspired them because the city is majority Black and was focused on "rebuilding the city after some rough times and because of the history of Motown," Johnson cited. He praised the efforts of Bedrock's Dan Gilbert and Kofi Bonner, a full-service real-estate company in downtown Detroit, and Mayor Duggan to get that city back on track. Now Detroit is being recognized as a city that is undergoing a renaissance.
Johnson said Fixins' most popular dishes are 24-hour brined fried chicken, fried catfish and oxtail. Its smothered pork chops do better in Tulsa and Detroit than Los Angeles. Its most popular appetizers include fried deviled eggs, catfish nuggets and fried green tomatoes.
And Johnson also pointed out that most people, instead of soda, gravitate to ordering Kool-Aid, with flavors such as blue, red, purpose, green and pink.
Johnson's target audience is clear; making African American guests feel at home. "We wanted to remind them of eating at their grandma's house," he says. But the clientele is quite diverse and includes the Sunday after church crowd, young families, singles, co-workers, and "everything in between."
Yelp reviews were mostly positive. Kimberly from Chicago about the Sacramento location said the "food was very good and the portions were ample." She liked the chicken, sweet potatoes and mac and cheese. And Angela from Sacramento found the chicken "crispy, tender and moist" and liked the yams and biscuits, and her husband enjoyed the waffles.
Since their four eateries are company-owned, is franchising a possibility? Kevin says he's a "standards freak, so it's hard for me to imagine wanting to franchise where it's hard to do quality control and maintain excellence." But taking a breath, he said, "never say never."
A well-known restaurateur once informed Johnson that once they reached four stores or more "that's where you live or die." Owning two eateries, they could stay on top of every detail, but it became much harder when they opened their third and fourth.
Having gained momentum, the couple is looking to expand into other venues. Johnson said they're in conversation for a second Los Angeles store in Inglewood, as well as exploring new cities Denver, Oakland, Harlem in NYC, Baltimore and Atlanta. He expects to open one or two more in the next three or four years.
In the next few years, he's staying focused on one goal: turning Fixins Soul Kitchen into a household name.