This October, Blavity is partnering with Google to put a spotlight on Black-owned businesses and show how customers can support them with our #InTheBlack campaign. This week, our #InTheBlack business feature is H-Town’s own, Lucille’s, owned by chef and founder Chris Williams. Southern cuisine is always good for the heart and soul, and with the way 2020 is going, comfort food is a great go-to option to uplift our spirits.
Black-owned restaurants like Lucille’s help ease the process of finding small joys one bite at a time, so it’s important to help them in stay #InTheBlack. And with Google, there are so many ways to show your support; like writing a review, posting a photo, reserving a table, or picking up your order curbside.
Williams is the mastermind behind the amazing cuisine at the acclaimed, local restaurant and he has continued his mission of feeding thousands of Houstonians with fresh meals throughout COVID-19. We sat down with him to talk about his dedication to giving back to the community, his life as a Black restaurant owner, and how this year is the best year yet for his business.
Tell us the story of why you started this business.
Williams: Lucille’s is a restaurant in Houston’s Museum District, with a non-profit [sector] called Lucille’s 1913 that provides thousands of nutritious meals per week to our frontline healthcare providers, the elderly community, and those most in need.
I’ve been in this business for almost 25 years and I’ve worked everywhere from London to Lithuania. I’ve always had a passion for the restaurant business as a whole – not just the culinary side, but everything restaurants provide and their communal component, which is really the most important part. After my stints in Europe, Canada, and up and down the East Coast, I came home and I wasn’t sure that I was going to open up a restaurant. It wasn’t really in the cards. Given the location of Lucille’s, it’s right there on that gentrified line in Third Ward and museum district, I thought it would be a perfect location to do something new in this city, to bridge the gap and bring people together for a new experience based on old values.
It’s that exact same approach that gave birth to Lucille’s 1913. We curated menus specifically for these old folks cut off from their families in these impoverished neighborhoods, curated menus that curate directly to their palates, their needs, and their wants. We went from feeding 127 people a day to 786 a day. Today we’re proud to say 1913 has donated over 60,000 meals and counting.
How has your city influenced you as an entrepreneur?
Williams: The great thing about Houston is that it’s culinarily ambiguous. It doesn’t really have a defined identity cuisine. That gave room for me to open and do whatever I wanted to do — which is Southern cuisine with global influences [that reflect] my experiences as a chef and a restaurateur. So that gave me the freedom to do what I want.
As far as being an entrepreneur, it’s also been a benefit because there was no Black restaurateur/owner who was doing what I was trying to do at the time, so it was wide open. We’re proud to say that since then the city has opened up the door for all types of creatives to come in and just change the game. So, Houston has been a huge benefit in that sense.
How have you been able to connect with customers and drum up support for your business?
Williams: You can Google Lucille’s and right there you can reserve a table or order for curbside pickup. I think it’s brilliant because of the ease of the process. The convenience of that is insane.
I think that's going to be huge for us as we get louder with [curbside pickup]. The 360 views and all of that kind of stuff, really manage people’s expectations. A big problem with Black-owned businesses, especially Black-owned restaurants, is that people have these immediate expectations of what the experience is going to be. Because of Google, they can see exactly what the experience is by checking out photos of the food, inside the restaurant and the whole vibe. So, when they come through the door, they come correct. Maybe not all the way correct, but the more information they have access to, the better.
Can you talk about the resiliency of your business and how you were able to successfully pivot despite the impact from COVID-19?
Williams: It’s affected my business in every way. And I’m not saying this with any arrogance, but I’m proud to say that I believe that we have “recession-proofed” it, and this is going to be the model and our approach moving forward. It starts with our investment in the community and our investment in other small businesses.
When the pandemic first showed up and shut everything down — people had to pivot and figure out new ways to do business. We had more customers ordering delivery and takeout, and we kept them updated on new changes like curbside pickup through our Google profile. Fortunately, we didn’t have to furlough or lay off anyone. We kept 99 percent of our staff on, and we switched up our entire model. We took profitability out of the equation and focused solely on sustainability, which means we dropped our prices 40 percent; we changed our menus up completely in order to utilize more affordable ingredients, but still putting the same amount of love and care into the execution of all of the dishes. We stayed true to our code of Southern ingredients with global influences.
The second part has been the investment in the community at large. First, we went after taking care of first responders. In the first 30 days of the pandemic, we donated 3,000 meals to first responders. After that, we started [working to help] our elders in our communities, in impoverished communities from Third Ward to Sunnyside to Acres Homes and 5th Ward — who [are high risk for COVID-19 and] now have to fend for themselves. So we started donating hot meals to these communities every day, and to date, we have donated over 60,000 meals to our elders [as mentioned before].
The third thing is that within our restaurant community, there’s the bar community. Bars had the rug pulled from under them because they got off of unemployment for 3 weeks just to be told, no you have to shut back down. So we’ve given our patio bar to 11 different bar teams from around the city. We let them bring their cocktails and their patrons could reserve tables at our patio bar so that they have direct access to them and customers get to bless them via tips or a simple hello and thank you, we’re thinking about you.
Lastly, the other extraordinary moment that happened during this pandemic is that former Vice President Joe Biden chose our restaurant to have that historic meeting with George Floyd’s family, the day of Mr. Floyd’s memorial service. Not sure how they found us, people Google 'best southern food in Houston' and we come up. That’s one of the great honors of my life personally, and of course, my staff and my family; because everyone was there to bear witness to real change happening in real-time.
It’s been one of the great privileges of running this restaurant — not only are we maintaining our commitment to community and bringing all cultures together under one roof to break bread in the same space, but it’s also been great to see the energy everyone is bringing towards this cause of supporting those that are struggling right now.
How has your business benefited from the surge in customers seeking ways to support Black-owned businesses?
Williams: Invest in community first, because the reality is that with everything that goes on everyday, people are inherently good. Most people want to do good, but they either don’t have the means or the time to make it happen. People love to have access to [other] people that are doing something, and it’s self-rewarding as well. Always invest in your community, because then, the community will want to reciprocate and invest in you. That’s the most important part.
Even with the shutdown, it'll be by far our best year ever. It’s been because of grace, but it’s also the undeniable fact that investing in the community will be reciprocated. Everybody wants to help. They’re going to enjoy their experience and they can feel good about treating themselves because they know the dollar is going to go straight through me back out to the community. It’s a very transparent effort. They’ve been showing up. The to-go business is still killing it. It’s a huge part of our business now and the patio’s booming and all of these incentives that we’re doing are all community-based now, people are really showing up for it.
Moving forward, how can customers best support your business?
Williams: They can support us by picking up curbside to-go orders, or reserving a table for dine-in service, and by treating our staff with respect during every visit. We encourage people to come out every Thursday for our 1913 Patio Pop-Up series, that’s where out-of-work bartenders get to take over our patio bar and put money directly into their own pockets.
—-
Want to fill your belly with the best cuisine in H-Town? Lucille’s has the best meals to accomplish that mission. Learn more about its succulent dishes and tasty drinks by visiting their Google profile. Simple, caring actions can help support businesses near you stay #InTheBlack.
This editorial was brought to you in partnership with Google.
