“The Council Chambers will be a place for people to gather, meet, eat and socialize,” she said. “It also fills a void in the community for a place to meet friends and chit-chat.”
Johnson said she has a background in business and retail management and was confident she could open and operate the restaurant once the opportunity presented itself. Johnson said the project has been in the works for the past 90 days, with most of the time spent cleaning the space.
Johnson said they will be leasing the restaurant space from Liz Rogers, who owns Mahogany’s in Cincinnati.
“I know that if you have good customer service and a good product, you’ll have repeat customers,” she said. “People will come back if they have a good experience.”
The restaurant’s menu features soul food entrees such as fried chicken, pork chops and fish as well as various sides such as collard greens, green beans, rice, corn bread and potatoes. It also features a lunch menu of sandwiches, soups and salad.
Lunch menu prices range from $2.99 to $5.99, and dinner menu prices range between $8.99 and $12.99.
“We wanted to keep it (the menu) basic,” Johnson said. “As much as people like choices, they want it to be simple.”
The restaurant will have one full-time employee and seven part-time employees. Johnson said she and her husband would also continue with their day jobs in the Cincinnati area. The new restaurant did not qualify for any type of economic development incentives, according to city officials.
Archie Johnson was unavailable for comment Friday.
While opening any type of business, especially a restaurant, can be very challenging, Johnson said she doesn’t expect it to be easy and that she was OK with that. In addition to their business plan, she said they also have a lot of people helping them.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “It’s something new and something different.”
The Council Chambers is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays; and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. It is closed Mondays.
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