Why catfish and gumbo are part of this Cincinnati restaurant's soul

The Enquirer is commemorating Black History Month this year through a TikTok series that highlights different Black-owned restaurants and the modern-day history makers who founded them.

Soul Secrets began as a pop-up restaurant and corporate catering service operating out of Findlay Kitchen in 2018. It quickly outgrew the space and owner Candice Holloway opened a brick-and-mortar location in the vibrant Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in April 2022.

Holloway, a Cincinnati native and 1998 Walnut Hills High School graduate, started Soul Secrets to connect with her daughter, to share family recipes passed down from generation to generation.

"Ninety percent of the dishes that we serve are recipes that have been passed down from my great-grandmother. They're recipes that I cooked with my own grandmother and shared with my daughter so that we can connect in the kitchen, and we are now sharing it with the community," Holloway said to The Enquirer.

From roasted chicken to seafood gumbo, baked macaroni and cheese and peach cobbler, Soul Secrets offers a variety of traditional Southern dishes that are staples within the Black community, as well as Holloway's family.

But of all the dishes offered at Soul Secrets, the fried catfish evokes a special memory for the restaurateur: of when her grandmother would host fish fries for their family and friends.

"It was a way for our family to connect. Fish was a staple in our household on the weekend," she explained.

Holloway doesn't just use the Soul Secrets menu to honor her family's history and legacy. The restaurant also features black-and-white portraits of the women in Holloway's family, hung alongside a mural of a tree. The branches connecting every face.

"Personally, I feel like Black History Month is every day," Holloway added. "The pictures on the wall signify the history. My grandmother was born in 1927 in Forsyth, Georgia. And the opportunities that she did not have, and that we have today in 2024, I think, is a good reflection of what Black History Month means to me."

Soul Secrets, located at 1434 Vine St., is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-7 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, visit soulsecretscincy.com. Catch our TikTok on the restaurant in the video below, and keep an eye out for future installments of our series.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Soul Secrets gives OTR taste of Southern cooking, from catfish to gumbo