Doug's Soul Food Cafe

Story and Photos by Rose Johnson-Brown, by Rojo Designs Photography

 Doug Davis and Janie Wimberly reached their longtime dream of becoming entrepreneurs when they opened Doug's Soul Food Café at 1325 Greenway Cross — in the Greenway Plaza off Fish Hatchery Road — on Aug. 29.
Davis established the concept of "Soul Food Thursdays" while working at Madison Area Technical College (MATC) as a Food Service associate at the Downtown Campus and now at the Truax Campus. He got the college to sponsor a special menu every Thursday in February, Black History Month. The interaction of students and staff as they share cultural foods has brought about better understanding among diverse groups at the college through menu choices, Davis feels.
Davis has been at MATC for 15 years. Prior to that, from 1985 to 1990, he was Food Production manager at Gimbels Department Store Café, where he got on-the-job training as a cook through the company. Before his job at Gimbels, Davis worked in the Food Service Department at Badger Prairie Nursing Home in Verona.
Just as the menus at MATC lacked African American soul food cuisine years ago, so it is with many current Madison restaurants. Davis has found his niche.
"My mother taught me most of what I know; that's where my base training stems from," Davis says.  "As with Janie, our mothers taught us how to cook, growing up. That's why my mom's picture is on the menu — to give her some credit."
Janie Wimberly, who was an MATC human services and social sciences instructor for eight years and associate dean of the same department for 19 years, recently retired.  She is now a distributor for Mona Vie, a nutrient fruit drinks company, and a licensed realtor for Kelly Williams Realty. But now she spends most of her time at the café.
"My other ventures have to be put on the back burner, until we are established enough to hire more staffing," Wimberly said. "We signed a five-year lease, so we definitely expect to be here and sign yet another one. We want to be successful and to be a household name when it comes to eating soul food out."
"I always wanted a catering mobile business and/or a simple food truck, but that never came into play," Davis added.
Said Wimberly: "We researched the food cart business, reading industry magazines [and] looking at cost analysis [and] trends in the business. It didn't seem as profitable as we thought, because you have to consider down times, such as the winter season."
"I stopped by my barber, Eve Dix, at Gail Fisher's salon housed in this mall; and she mentioned that this spot was up for lease. I had to see it. I got Janie to come over to see it, and it was perfect. So we explored the conditions [lease, cost, resources, etc.] for a business here. It was an unexpected opportunity, which we felt would fill a well needed niche for Madison. Our goal is to make it a good business."
Asked what makes for a good business, Davis answered: "Good service, good food, good location (we are located centrally on the Beltline Highway from north, south, east, and west), advertisement, positive word of mouth, and a repeated good customer base. 
Doug's Soul Food Café, which seats a capacity of 45, is on the right track to being a stable eatery in the Madison cuisine scene. I tried the black-eyed peas, the candied yams, the collard greens, the cornbread, the macaroni & cheese, and the fried perch after church last Sunday. Everything was perfectly delectable. You get a heaping serving and will have something left over for a snack later. It's like having a home-cooked holiday meal, but you won't have to invest hours of preparation, have mounds of leftovers to waste, or face a sinkful of dishes at home. Just let Doug's Soul Food Café do it!
Visit Doug's Soul Food Café to dine in or take out: Tuesday through Friday, 4:30 to 8:30 pm.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. You can get take-out orders only for half an hour after the dining room closes.