Columbus restaurant owner opens a second soul food restaurant in Harris County
A Columbus soul food restaurant owner opened a second location in Harris County because she wanted to bring more dining options in the area.
Chiffany Lawrence, owner of Vicky’s Soul Food, brought her food to Waverly Hall at the end of October after seeing success in her Columbus restaurant on Hamilton Road. Lawrence secured the building at 9130 GA Highway 85 about eight months before she opened it, she said.
“I never got a chance to open it up because I was so busy in Columbus,” Lawrence said.
Although it took time, she was determined to get the restaurant open. Before opening the first restaurant in Columbus, Lawrence worked in hospice care and her territory was in Harris County.
“This is where I started out at work in the morning,” Lawrence said. “And I have never seen a lot of restaurants down here.”
While working for the hospice, she had trouble finding options for lunch, Lawrence said, and would have to wait until she got to Manchester to eat.
“So, I always said that if I ever opened up (a restaurant) — and it went good — I was going to come down here,” she said.
Vicky’s Soul Food 2
Vicky’s Soul Food 2 opened with a slow start in Harris County, Lawrence said, so she made the decision to stay closed for breakfast and open for lunch and dinner. Lawrence hopes that as more people in the area come out to try the food, they will be able to expand their hours and menu options, including a buffet.
“We will try (a buffet) next week,” Lawrence said. “And if it does pretty good, we’re going to stay with the buffet.”
Although the restaurant will test a buffet, she said, customers can continue to come in and place their orders for dine-in or to-go. If the buffet helps to bring in more customers, Lawrence said, then she will consider opening for breakfast at the Harris County location again.
Currently, the restaurant is open every day except Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m. The food is made to order, she said, so customers should expect to wait around 10-15 minutes for the food to be cooked and served fresh.
Patrons can order a meat and two sides, with the prices varying based on what customers order. Some of the dishes Vicky’s Soul Food serves include fried and baked chicken, hamburger steak, liver and onions, country fried steak, collard greens, rice, potato salad and green bean casserole.
Honoring Victoria Williams
Lawrence’s mother and the restaurants’ namesake, Victoria Williams, passed away from stomach cancer in 2010. One of Vicky’s dreams was to have a family restaurant, Lawrence said, so when she decided to open one, she named it in honor of her mother.
“She always invited family over every weekend,” Lawrence said. “She would cook, and we all would sit around, talk and just laugh and joke all night.”
Vicky always believed in getting the family together to sit around for good meals, she said, and her mother would get her to help in the kitchen. Helping her mother is how Lawrence learned to cook and develop recipes for her restaurants.
Lawrence’s family helps her with her restaurants, she said, and provide a support system for the business owner. Her husband, Reginald Mellion, helps work and run the restaurant with Lawrence.
“He does the same thing I do,” she said. “He comes in in the morning and works like I do.”
Lawrence has four children and seven grandchildren. Lawrence’s son Jeffery and her daughter Khadijah both help with the restaurant.
Along with keeping her business family-oriented with friendly service, Lawrence focuses on making sure the quality of the food stays high. She’s passionate about making sure the food tastes good, and if something isn’t right with an order then Lawrence will dump it and start over before sending it out.
“I just believe in serving people what I would eat,” she said. “If I wouldn’t eat it, then I wouldn’t serve it.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
