“They paid for me to come here (to Madison), paid for my short stay and then they closed,” Jefferson said of the company, which closed the last of its more than 2,000 stores in June 2019.

“So that’s why I came to Madison,” Jefferson said, adding that she did a few other odd jobs afterward but they weren’t fulfilling.

During that time, she says, she started cooking at home and found many customers through social media and word of mouth. “I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, I should have done that all along.'”

Jefferson, 46, opened House of Flavas at 4905 Commercial Ave. in the Capitol Petro Mart in August 2021 and said she has found an enthusiastic audience for her soul food on weekends, particularly the catfish and mac ‘n’ cheese. “A lot of people like anything we cook that’s savory.”

House of Flavas is one of 29 food businesses participating in Madison Black Restaurant Week, which begins Sunday and runs through August 18.

Now in its ninth year, the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce hosts Black Restaurant Week to celebrate local Black chefs, restaurants and culinary entrepreneurs.

The week culminates in the Madison Black Restaurant Week Food Taste Jamboree, which will take place on August 18 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Olin Park, where attendees can meet the chefs and sample dishes from participating food trucks, caterers, dessert makers and other food businesses for $5 per serving.

This is Jefferson’s third year participating in the week of action and he says it’s always great.

“Black Restaurant Week brings us so much exposure,” she said. “I’ve been in business for almost three years, and I notice people come in and say, ‘We didn’t know you were here,’ but when Black Restaurant Week happens, I see so many new faces, and that just builds another relationship with new customers.”

House of Flavas sells gyros, burgers, wings, Italian beef, chicken sandwiches, cheesesteak, tacos, fries and other fast-food classics, but Jefferson said she has become known for her Chicago soul food, which she cooks primarily on weekends.

“A lot of people are attracted to it,” she said. “And it’s been an incredible journey with soul food because I would never have introduced it. People asked us for it, we gave it to them and they love it.”

Jefferson said she’s starting to cook more soul food during the week. “The reason we do it on the weekend is because in our culture, you go to Grandma’s on Sunday, she cooks all night on Saturday and Sunday dinner is prepared and the whole family comes over for dinner.”

When Jefferson came to Madison, she managed seven Payless stores, but she only held that job for about six months.

She said she learned the basics of cooking from her mother and grandmother and took all her recipes from them. As she grew older and started cooking for her three children, she began spicing up her cooking skills and adding different ingredients.

Jefferson said her children, ages 28, 24 and 20, don’t cook, although her daughter Jakala Ware, the middle child, works with her at the restaurant, making sandwiches while Jefferson operates the fryer. “She’s learning, but she’s so scared to try soul food. Once I get her into it, I can probably ease back a little bit.”

Will Green started his Mentoring Positives program 20 years ago in the Darbo-Worthington neighborhood on the East Side. He said this is the fourth year the group has participated in Black Restaurant Week.

The young people he mentors learn culinary skills and entrepreneurship by making their own “Off the Block” salsa and “Off the Block” pizza.

For about three years, they used the FEED Kitchen on Sherman Avenue to make their salsa and pizza, but in May 2023, Mentoring Positives moved into its own space in the Ella Apartments at 2860 East Washington Ave., where the famous Ella’s Deli used to be.

“Now that we have a store, we tend to get more people coming to us,” says Green, 53, who is also in his ninth year as coach of the La Follette High School girls’ basketball team.

Muriel’s Place restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The young people make and sell their salsa and pizza. “People can come by and eat with us. We just want more people in the community to know that they can come by and eat with us and interact with the kids.”

Green founded the nonprofit after his mother, Muriel Pipkins, died of breast cancer at age 46. He took the “M” and “P” from her name and created Mentoring Positives.

“I turned my pain into passion and have been mentoring kids ever since,” Green said. “I’ve used food and basketball as platforms to inspire kids and teach them life skills and just how to be a good person.”

About 50 middle and high school students participate in the program, with about 12 of the high school students working in the restaurant, serving meat pizza, vegetable pizza, and recently, a gluten-free pizza.

Green said the program teaches young people more than just how to make pizza and salsa. It aims to impart life and career wisdom and expose them to other options.

He was able to fund the program through grants totaling approximately $400,000 from UW Health, American Family Insurance, Madison Community Foundation, 100 Men of Dane County, UW Credit Union, Schlecht Family Foundation, CUNA Mutual Group Foundation, Madison Gas and Electric, Evjue Foundation, Edinger Surgical Options and Uniek.

Mentoring Positives celebrates its 20th anniversary on October 10th at the Goodman Community Center.

“It’s been 20 years, man, but I just feel like we’re still at the beginning. I really am,” Green said. “I’m looking forward to the next 20 years.”