Fixins Soul Kitchen opens new Detroit restaurant in Paradise Valley district

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A new Detroit restaurant, Fixins Soul Kitchen celebrates African American culture

Mayor Mike Duggan made the trip from the Democratic National Convention in order to be at the opening.

"There is nothing that could’ve made me come back early from the four spectacular days we just had in Chicago except Kevin Johnson and the opening of his new restaurant," he said.

The man behind the restaurant is former NBA all-star Kevin Johnson.

"(They're) going to be cooking my grandma's recipes from scratch and they’re from the deep South," said owner Kevin Johnson. "We’re not perpetrating, we're bringing it to Detroit in a real way."

Johnson also served as mayor of Sacramento and knows what it means to win on and off the court.

Now he’s making a mark in the restaurant industry. He started his chain in 2019 and the ribbon-cutting for his newest location in Detroit took place Friday.

"This is my fourth location," he said. "The first one was in Sacramento, the second one was in LA, the third one is inTulsa - Black Wall Street - and the fourth one in Detroit, Paradise Valley."

The Paradise Valley neighborhood was once home to the a thriving Black residential neighborhood known as Black Bottom and a business and entertainment district in the 1920s through the 1950s, before construction of freeways in the 1960s abruptly took it all away.

Now the area is looking to recreate it in Paradise Valley.

"This will not only be a restaurant but a place for people to gather, for people to connect, to share stories," said Council President Mary Sheffield. " Similar to what happened decades ago right In this area."