By Judayah Murray

In 2006, Imar L. Hutchins, an attorney, became the owner of what is currently reigning as the self-proclaimed “Oldest Soul Food Restaurant in the World”, and it sits right in the heart of Northwest Washington, D.C.

Florida Avenue Grill, which is located at 1100 Florida Avenue, has been pumping out good food and business for a little over seven decades now.

While its beginnings were humble, the success was inevitable.

Hutchins takes an expedition through history as he redirects his attention to the restaurant’s famous walls of framed, and sometimes autographed, pictures.

He points to a photo of an older gentleman, jolly in size and garnished with a crisp suit and a big bowtie, “That’s Mr. Lacey C. Wilson … that picture next to him? That’s his son.”

The restaurant was opened in 1944 by Lacey C. Wilson and his wife, Bertha.

With only the tips he made from shoe shining on Capitol Hill, Lacey purchased a cozy development that was only large enough to house two customers at the bar at a time.

That didn’t stop him from transposing his dreams into reality. The goal was to provide a space for blacks away from the racial tensions of the era, and it did just that.

At the beginning of 1970, Lacey sold the family restaurant to his son, Lacey C. Wilson, Jr. who also bought the neighboring plots in order to expand the grill in size. Thirty-five years went by before the Grill would be up for sale again.

“I knew an architect that was involved with the group that was trying to buy it, but was not going through with it. So, I said ‘I’ll buy it,” Hutchins said about the moment when he decided to purchase the grill in 2005.

Practicing law in New York at the time, he admits that originally, he bought the restaurant in order to build condominiums.

But, the charm that kept the restaurant open for as long as it was made its presence known to Hutchins. He made the conscious decision to leave the building as it was and rather build around it.

With the history of the grill out of the way, it was time to dig deeper into the man Imar L. Hutchins really was.

He said that he was both married and the proud father of a little boy and girl. Family life and business was not hard for him to balance.

“I don’t really make that distinction, I don’t separate my work life from my life. They are one, so it’s hard to answer that question. You know, some people are so quick to leave and I ask ‘Where are you going? Where could be more important than here–at work?’”

One of the general managers of the restaurant, Shawnda Steward, who was also a recent Howard-graduate, came to join the conversation.

She laughed and recalled the day that she interviewed with Hutchins for her job there. “We were sitting right here in this booth,” she said.

As the interview was coming to a close she had made a comment saying that she was looking for a job where she wouldn’t have to take her work home with her.

“I thought I definitely didn’t get the job after that,” she said. The two erupted in laughter.

It’s clear that Imar L. Hutchins is a hardworking individual and that is probably what the bulk of his success can be attributed to.

Another General Manager, Diasia Ellerbee, has been working at the grill for about eleven years now, starting when she was a sophomore at Howard University. When asked why she decided to stay so long, she admitted that she had been on and off during that time.

“I’ve always worked a lot of jobs. So, my first job was at ‘Up Against The Wall’, a clothing store on Georgia Avenue, and this, right over here…but it was more of a family here. I interned with Mr. Imar and I learned a lot from him.”

Both Shawnda and Diasia agreed that the working dynamic here was definitely that of a family.

“My coworkers became my brothers,” Diasia continues, “…we’re all real, real close. The funny thing about it is that when I first started working here is when he just started owning the place. So, it’s like I transitioned with him. He’s like family, he’s always had my back. I have a place to eat if I ever need a hot meal. I kind of feel like I’m indebted to them here.”

“I love the fact that even though he bought the place, he didn’t try to change it. I really do appreciate that,” Ellerbee said.

Hutchins took a moment to smile and look around the restaurant, greeting customers–every single one by name, followed by a sincere handshake.

“It was important for me to keep the Grill because it’s a part of history–American history, right? Most people would have torn it down, you know, to get another apartment or two. But for me, it was important to keep the grill,” Hutchins said.

He said it’s like a museum. In a museum, as he explained, there are artifacts, pieces behind glass to remind you of what once existed.

People can come to Florida Avenue Grill and experience history in the now. The entire building is an artifact. The atmosphere of the restaurant, the aesthetic, the food–nothing has changed since 1944 besides the size and the ownership. Just try the hotcakes, that’s a historical glimpse of Bertha’s slaving hard work from more than seventy years ago.