Soul Food Thursday could look different beyond bustling dining halls. Instead of waiting in lines that fill up Armour J. Blackburn University Center or Bethune Annex Cafe, students can experience similar cultural dining right down the street, any day of the week.
On the corner of 11th Street Northwest and Florida Avenue, a historic Black-owned business goes deeper than its hot cakes and fried catfish, with its memories hanging off the restaurant’s walls.
The World Famous Florida Avenue Grill is a staple for local community members, serving customers such as civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., native Washingtonians, entertainers like Lena Horne and Howard University students since 1944.
The Florida Avenue Grill, known colloquially as The Grill, is currently operated by Janir Hawkins, a Howard alumnus. The restaurant’s social media intern, Audrey Nelson, a 2025 Howard alumna, said she wants students to know there’s room for them there.
“We just want to make sure that the Howard community knows that Florida Avenue Grill is a home for them off campus,” Hawkins said. “We genuinely do care about that demographic of people because we are Howard alum.”
Howard students are usual and expected customers of the restaurant, so much so that The Grill offers a 10% discount to those who show their student IDs. Patrons agreed that they like the home-cooked food, but they keep dining there for the community.
Jayna Rena, a May 2026 graduate of Howard, said she’s always looking for a hot plate of their powdered-sugared pancakes or slices of French toast with cinnamon.
“Seeing how the city has changed so much, it’s really nice to see something stay the same,” Rena said.
According to the history section of their website, the restaurant’s founders, Lacey C. Wilson Sr. and Bertha Wilson, began with only enough money to buy two chickens to fry and sell. Their restaurant grew from two bar stools and a kitchen in the basement to a place that has survived the test of time.
Entrepreneur and printmaker Imar Hutchins bought the former family business in 2005, but server Julio Serrano said that their crew still “works as a family.”
The current owner, Marvin Riley, bought the restaurant around the COVID-19 pandemic and added a Jamaican influence to the menu, with Hawkins saying it aimed to bring a more Pan-African selection of comfort food.
The Grill’s menu has since expanded to include different types of entrees, sandwiches, fish, sides, vegetarian options and soul food classics, with menu prices ranging from $6.50 to $37.
Malia Jolley, a sophomore advertising major from Atlanta, said it’s powerful to know the restaurant has lasted since the 1940s, withstanding gentrification and changing infrastructure.
“It shows that there’s still a heart in the city and a heart in D.C. It’s a heart for Howard students to go and enjoy a meal sometimes,” Jolley said.
Michael Rothe, a tourist from Germany, found The Grill by searching online and chose to dine there with his family because they liked the restaurant’s style.
“We searched for a good restaurant for breakfast here in Washington, and it was on a list of 10 different ones,” he said.
Music poured through the restaurant’s overhead speakers, and chatter came from surrounding seats as aromatic plates exited the kitchen. With downstairs, upstairs and outside seating, the restaurant has room to host a slew of guests.
Serrano, a server who’s been at the restaurant for over three years, said that many people visit for their meals and the restaurant’s historic significance.
The restaurant is covered in autographed photos of celebrities and plaques recognizing significant booths like the one where King helped plan the March on Washington.
Serrano recommended dishes including the fried catfish and cheddar cheesy grits, slices of French toast dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar, dark fried chicken featuring their signature house seasoning blend, oxtails with butter beans stewed in gravy and the affectionately named “Ms. Bertha Special” with choice of hot cakes or French toast, two eggs, a breakfast meat and side choice of fried cinnamon apples, fries or grits.
“I had a customer saying, ‘Oh, my mom came here yesterday,’ and she was so surprised that we’re still open. She was like, ‘This is where my mom and my dad met,’” Serrano said.
A local Washingtonian customer, Cheryl Taylor, likes The Grill and orders their catfish because it’s close to where she lives, usually visiting on Sundays after church.
“It’s the legacy of it being in this neighborhood for so long. I know there’s been a few changeovers, but it’s been a staple,” Taylor said.
Copy edited by Jori Johnson