Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathy Jenkins.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was a stay at home mom and when the children grew up, I went to my husband, Gerome and I told him I wanted something about me. Then he looked at me and asked me what would I like to do? I told him I want a restaurant. We did not have any experience in the restaurant business so we decided to take a two month long trip around America following the food network channels map on their webpage. We stopped at all the locations that they had on their map and asked the chefs how to make different dishes and just basic information about the restaurant industry. We basically ate our way around the country and we drove a total of 6600 miles to learn about the restaurant business. When we get back from the trip, Jerome rebuilt our kitchen into the format of a restaurant and we would post on Facebook three times a week our daily special and allow people to come to our house and eat for five dollars. One day we did a customer appreciation and 95 people arrived at our house and that when we knew we needed a restaurant.. Then in 2013, we decided to open our first restaurant which was in Ferguson Missouri.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth roll for us because the next year of our grand opening was the death of Michael Brown by the hands of the Ferguson police officer. Our restaurant is two doors down from the police department, so immediately the protest began right outside our front door, and we were unable to make any sales.. One day I decided I did not want to waste all the food so I cooked up the food, rolled my cart outside and fed all the protesters for free . Then on the night of the verdict when everything was on fire in Ferguson, those protesters that I fed decided to pay the kindness back by building a human chain around my restaurant. The next day, when I arrive to the restaurant, I realized I was the only one that could open their doors due to the kindness of the protesters. This was a moment in time that forever changed my life, but it definitely wasn’t easy because the protest lasted for years. Then finally when it was all over and things seem to be getting back to normal we had the George Floyd killing that created a spark in protesting back in Ferguson so we were right back in the midst of it . Then when that was over, maybe a year or two later than we were full steam here into Covid. So as you can see, we have plenty of struggles along our way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Cathy’s Kitchen?
Cathy’s Kitchen restaurant and diner is very unique because we based our menu on a 2 Month Rd. trip around America. We brought all those dishes into our restaurant so that our customers can have a taste of America. We are family own business. My daughter Micah Jenkins manages the Ferguson location and my son Michael Jenkins manages Dellwood with location.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would have to give praise to Melissa Etheridge the rockstar for being such a great friend and supporter of Cathy’s Kitchen. She has played a big part in my success has introduced me into some very wonderful Famous People along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cathyskitchen.net
- Instagram: cathyskitchens
- Facebook: Cathy’s Kitchen Restaurant & Diner
- Youtube: @SeeJenkins
