By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Gloria Martin, owner of Southern Kitchen in Tacoma, Washington, opened her well-known restaurant in 1995 after using her knowledge about the history of our food to create a place that serves quality southern food here in the Pacific Northwest. Originally from Chicago, Martin relocated to Tacoma in 1981 where she opened a book store and eventually got into the restaurant business after understanding the connection between food and culture.
“I have been here since 1981, but we opened [Southern Kitchen] in 1995. I owned a bookstore that specialized in ethnic studies, Native American and African American people. There was a restaurant next door that I purchased, and being a very businessperson and with my background in terms of cooking and learning about the history of southern food at my bookstore, I incorporated all of those things into the restaurant,” Martin said.
The daughter of a chef herself, Martin takes great pride in doing things the “right way” by taking your time and making things from scratch – which allows the food to have a distinct flavor that is personalized by the cook.
“Everything we have here is made from scratch,” says Martin about her menu at Southern Kitchen. “My father was a chef, and he taught me a lot of things. When I was growing up, he talked about how not to waste anything, and of course now our society is totally different, but that is how I learned my cooking skills and knowledge about the food itself.”
In addition to paying close attention to flavor, Martin is also health conscious when it comes to the food she serves to her clientele. Given the number of health disparities that exist, especially among African Americans, like high blood pressure and other health concerns, Martin maintains that it is important to her to make sure that she is serving a healthy version of southern food to her patrons. Being ahead of her time, Martin did her due diligence and began sourcing free-range chickens and other ingredients that are used to cook food for her restaurant over 10 years ago.
“People don’t believe this, but I don’t serve any pork,” says Martin. “There is this whole thing about blood pressure being linked to certain foods, and a lot of times people right now have a big thing about allergies and things like that. So, I am really, really cautious about that, I am basically trying to serve good food, and the best food that I can with the best healthy ingredients that I can to our customers.”
“Southern Kitchen is a place where you can get real food, I don’t have any added ingredients, it is just real food. I want people to know that we care about our food, we care about our customers, and we care about the community,” added Martin.
With food prices constantly on the rise, Martin, like many other restaurant owners in the region, is trying to balance pricing, value and the profitability of her business at the same time. While she is grateful for the support that she receives from the community, she says that it is very important that people make a conscious effort to support not only her business, but all small community-based business during these times because all of them are doing their best to make ends meet.
“Everyone has always been very supportive of Southern Kitchen. I have always had the community support, but I definitely think during a time right now where the industry is suffering because of high cost, I could use more community support,” says Martin. “The community has always been great, and I know where the community is, the restaurant is a community, and that is one of the reasons why I love the business. In terms of high cost, it has been really, really tough, and that is one of the reasons [we could use] more support.”
The beauty of Southern Kitchen is that it truly feels like a welcoming space where all are welcome to come in and eat quality food that was made with love.
“I had a customer from Seattle once send me a letter that said, Southern Kitchen is how the world should be because everyone is inclusive’, and I thought that was a really nice and sweet thing for her to say to me about my restaurant,” said Martin.
In today’s world, inclusivity is important in our community, and Martin strives to create a diverse environment at Southern Kitchen, which she proudly says starts with her staff.
“My intent was to hire people of color, from Native Americans to African Americans, all of that,” says Martin. “I am basically trying to create a place that is welcoming to everyone in the United States. That’s the culture, that’s my main focus, and that is the whole point. I love the fact that I have employment for our people. There is no such thing as racism here, none at all, and that is the beautiful part of it.”