Here’s why the Columbus restaurant The Mixed Dish is for sale and what comes next
After the owner of The Mixed Dish wrote a Facebook post announcing he was selling the business, the Columbus restaurant’s fans worried that it would be shutting down.
The Mixed Dish is not closing, owner Kenneth Walden assured his customers.
When he signed the lease for the location last October, Walden had big ideas for the business.
“I set this place up for success,” Walden said. “And it’s been successful. It’s going very well. We get new customers every day.”
But a difficult labor market and little family time made owning the restaurant difficult, so Walden has now found a local buyer to take over ownership of the Mixed Dish.
Rough labor market
Walden worked on the corporate side of the ophthalmology industry for 15 years before he opened the Mixed Dish in Columbus after moving his family from Florida to Georgia.
“I didn’t build this place to be a Mom and Pop’s place,” he said. “Otherwise, I would have called it Kenny’s Soul Food and left it at that.”
He named it the Mixed Dish, so it could be a brand. He wanted to be outside the restaurant focused on marketing and growing the company into a franchise while also having time for his family.
But finding labor for the restaurant in the post-pandemic era proved difficult.
“I need six good people,” Walden said. “I can’t even find six good people.”
There were times when the restaurant would be packed with customers, he said, and he would be the only person in the back cooking. Although finding people to run the front of the restaurant was easier, what he really needed was assistance in the back.
Initially, Walden planned to have one of his employees, who has 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, take over most of the day-to-day operations. But a lack of labor thwarted those plans.
“I’m here basically seven days a week even though we’re only open for five because I’ve not found that help I need,” he said.
Selling to the right buyer
Walden knew he needed to find the right person to buy the restaurant.
“It needs to be somebody local who has a support network,” he said.
The new owner needed to have family and friends in Columbus that could help them build the restaurant and grow it.
Along with being local, he wanted to sell to someone that shared his vision of what the Mixed Dish could be.
Walden was contacted by potential buyers in Atlanta who wanted to take it over. But he was determined to keep the Mixed Dish owned and operated by someone in Columbus.
“I wanted (the franchise) to start here,” he said. “I wanted it to be a place where people in Columbus could say, ‘You see The Mixed Dish everywhere? They started that in Columbus.’”
Walden found the perfect buyer, he said, and will announce who the person is after the deal has been finalized. The buyer is local with support in Columbus, he said, and they share Walden’s vision.
He will teach his successor everything they need to know about running the restaurant and plans to leave the recipe book so the food will continue to be the same.
“Let’s hope he does what I couldn’t do,” Walden said. “That’s my goal — for this place to live on and do well.”
More time for family and community
Walden has a wife and two children, ages 8 and 10.
Since moving to Columbus, Walden struggled building a community here because of the time spent in the kitchen. He recognized it was a time for a change for his family.
Other things he’s missing is the ability to find a church home and friends.
His children also miss their home state of Florida. He thought his son and daughter would grow accustomed to Columbus in time, Walden said, but this hasn’t happened. So the plan is to return to the Sunshine State.
“They’re used to being able to go to the beach on the weekends.” he said. “They’re used to going to Disney when we want to go to Disney.”
More than that, Walden wants to make sure he is available as a father to his kids. His 8-year-son still goes to his mom for everything, Walden quipped, but one day his son will want or need his father. Walden plans to be there when that day comes.
While selling the business is best for him and his family, Walden still feels honored that people in Columbus have made the Mixed Dish so popular in just a year. He’s gotten to see so many people become regular customers, Walden said, including people who come from hours away to eat the food.
“It’s probably been the best part,” he said. “The absolute best part is people from all these places who come over and over and over again.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
