New Wichita soul food restaurant is named for owner’s culinary hero

Ruth Whitlowe learned to cook soul food from her grandmother, Corine, and she was good at it - so good that she and her grandmother would often talk about Ruth opening a restaurant someday.

Whitlowe told her grandmother that if she ever did, she’d name the restaurant after her. Fine, Corine said. She just had one request.

“We talked about this for a long time, and she told me when I get ready to open up, don’t spell it with a ‘C.’ Spell it with a ‘K’ because it’s catchy,” Whitlowe said.

Now, Whitlowe has finally opened her restaurant, and she granted her grandmother’s wish, naming her new soul food eatery Korine’s Soul Food. It opened in mid-October at 1412 E. Ninth Street, near Ninth and Cleveland.

The tiny building was home to Da Louisiana Chicken & Waffle House for a time, but in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the site of Juanita’s Kitchen, another soul food restaurant. Whitlowe said that “Miss Juanita” and her grandmother were best friends. Corine died in 2013.

Whitlowe has long been a caterer, she said, but this is her first restaurant. She has a regular menu that features catfish, chicken wings and burgers, and every day on her Facebook page, she posts the daily specials. Since opening day, her list of specials has included pork chops, chitterlings, greens, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, okra, fried cabbage, corn bread and more. Whitlowe said she’s known for her lemon cake.

The restaurant has seating for about 10, she said, and she has a strong carryout business.

Soul food is something that was lacking in Wichita, she said.