Photography by Jane Kortright
Good Southern cooking isn’t always easy to find. It’s usually best coming straight from Grandma’s stove — and more difficult to find at an actual restaurant. But Belly Kitchen is changing that. Coming up on their fifth anniversary, they’ve made a name for serving up dishes like the Deep-fried Cornish Hen, Hot CHEETOS® Balls, Pork Chop Sanwich and Belly Rolls, their take on Philly Cheesesteak egg rolls.
“The everyday menu stays the same, but the soul food menu is always changing,” says owner Tabatha Harris. Classic favorites like Salmon Croquettes and Grits and Wing Boil with potatoes and corn are creative renditions of filling favorites that can be found on the soul food menu.
Freshly squeezed lemonade in a wide variety of flavors pair excellently with burgers like the Belly Mac, accompanied by special sauce and pickles, and the Boss Hog, complete with a double patty and bacon. Items like chicken salad and banana pudding are such a big favorite that Belly Kitchen keeps them in stock in the front cooler for easy grab-and-go.
When Harris decided to go all in on the restaurant, she started with wings in a variety of seasonings. “We named all of our wings after different neighborhoods in the community,” she says. At first, the idea was to instill a sense of community but soon enough “everybody wanted to get the wings from their neighborhood.”
It’s fun to see which flavors are named after which neighborhoods such as The Hill (Sweet Teriyaki), Harrisburg (Jerk Sauce) and Meadowbrook (Lemon Pepper).
In 2020, Belly Kitchen was forced to close like many other businesses. But it wasn’t long before they realized that they could provide take-out options for home-cooked meals. Seizing this opportunity really allowed the team to get to know their neighbors and build relationships.
“We’ve been going ever since,” says Harris. “It can be a difficult neighborhood, but God has taken care of us.”
Belly Kitchen continues to “pay it forward” by doing toy drives and throwing family-friendly Halloween parties in the community. The homeless in the area know that if they’re hungry the kitchen will provide hot meals with what is left at the end of the day. “We are a community-based restaurant. We try to be humble and treat people right,” she says.
Good food and great relationships have made Belly Kitchen a favorite over the past five years and will continue to do so for many more! Fill up Thursday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., or order on DoorDashTM for comfort food straight to your front door!
Seen in the August/September 2024 issue of Augusta magazine.
