We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Banks Banks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Banks, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

I want to give a great experience with great healthy food. Our goal is to create a brand everyone loves and can afford. We use the best ingredients and cook with love.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Johnny banks. My mother Edna taught me how to cook at around 10 years old. I have been practicing every since. I started in the food industry as a cook at McDonald’s. I got promoted shortly after starting to a shift manager. I moved on to pizza hut where I really got my experience. I became a General Manager at the age of 25. I have learned everything I can from anyone. Good or bad, meaning if it’s bad . You don’t use it. You just take a mental note of it. I’ve always wanted to find the best and easiest way to do great things. If anyone trains me on something., By the end of the day I will have found a better way to do it. I started Ednas SoulFood Grille in 2018 after years of working for people. I wanted a home where I created a space where we work together. No one works for me. We are a team and we work together for one common cause. We have been in business now for 4 years. I have been a cadet for community. I do all the marketing and social platforms. We have generated over 1.7 million views on Google. I want my mother’s legacy to be around for hundreds of years. I take a big cost of making sure everything is done well. I want to be remembered like Sam Walton.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When covid hit,we lost about a $100 a day in revenue. I took on a part time job at Wendy’s to keep the business going.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had $3000 left in my checking account. I took everything I had and started Ednas. It has been a tough but life long dream of starting a legacy.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ednassoulfoodgrille
• Facebook: Ednas SoulFood Grille
• Twitter: Ednas SoulFood Grille
• Youtube: Ednas SoulFood Grille
• Yelp: Ednas SoulFood Grille

Image Credits
Johnny banks