Mom-daughter duo stirs culinary zing, creole style, in Chestnut Hill

IT IS SMALL and unassuming, a cheerful, cozy nook with only nine tables and a tight kitchen.

But to mother-daughter owners Angie Brown and Samantha Johnson, their new BYOB on Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill is a big place with a whole lot of soul.

That's one one reason why they call their joint venture Soul. The modern, Creole-style restaurant serves up "food for the soul," according to Brown. Giant plates of rice and beans nestled against classic Southern comfort foods, from jambalaya to crab cakes, baked oysters and pork chops.

But this venture has soul for another reason, too: It has been the lifelong dream of both mother and daughter to work together in the restaurant business.

Brown, 54, a Chestnut Hill native, has a long history with Philadelphia food as a caterer, restaurant owner and corporate chef. But there was always something missing, she reflected recently.

She yearned for something more intimate where she could focus on her passion for Creole food, born of her family roots in Louisiana.

Johnson, 24, is a focused, driven Temple film studies grad who was Miss Pennsylvania in 2007. She has aspirations of acting - and going to graduate school for a business degree - but would rather work with Mom.

Last fall, the stars aligned when the pair found a small space in a rowhouse basement on tony Germantown Avenue. Chestnut Hill's main shopping artery is clogged with antiques shops, art galleries and specialty stores, along with a handful of restaurants, many of which have moved toward American pub-style fare.

It seemed the Hill was ready for a breath of fresh air.

Soul opened in late October, and by early December, the duo was stunned when Soul landed a Zagat rating and the Zagat Guide's coveted "best new restaurant in Philly" award, as well as a glowing review from the local Chestnut Hill newspaper.

"We were so happy," said Brown, a super-energetic blonde who bubbles as she talks. "It was like, after less than two months, it was a sign we'd done the right thing."

"In college [for a course], I'd done plans for a restaurant. I'd always wanted one," said Johnson. "I grew up in restaurants. It's always been an ambition of mine."

Brown was born and raised in Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill.

Her earliest food memory dates back to age 10, when her mother and her mother's friends would sit on their Mount Airy stoop each afternoon, laughing, talking and having cocktails. At some point, they'd call on Brown to "go make us some sandwiches."

"I always had a flair for taste," said Brown. "My grandmother was a great pastry chef. So I started cooking for my mom and her 'Chatty Cathy' girlfriends, and they'd tell me, 'These are the best sandwiches.' Thinking back on how I made them - I was only 10 or so - I think they were!"

But she never considered a career in food. By the time she'd graduated from college and headed to Los Angeles in the mid-'70s to work in the fashion industry, she was convinced she was destined for the stars, or working with them, anyway.

"I worked for Saks Fifth Avenue and basically, I was a stylist for stars. They'd call me and tell me, 'Barbara Eden needs five yellow dresses [for a TV show]."

That job morphed into another opportunity for Brown: catering meals for stars at movie sets. "They'd tell me what the stars wanted and I'd make it," said Brown.

But by 1980, she'd moved back to Philly, thinking she might want to cook full time. While pregnant with Samantha, she spent several months in France taking cooking classes. That's when she knew for certain.

After attending the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, she did an apprenticeship at the Hershey Hotel, then a stint at Rembrandt's in Fairmount.

She decided to open the Mount Airy Cafe, a BYOB on Mount Airy Avenue, in 1995. She had a successful three-year run there before giving it up to cater and work as a chef at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her biggest venture came along in 2004, when she decided to buy the shuttered Goat Hollow, once a popular spot in Mount Airy. She had a grand vision for the establishment she called Angie Brown's.

"I wanted an upscale, modern restaurant, somewhere people could go if they didn't want to go downtown," said Brown.

She earned accolades for her modern, eclectic menu and began to develop a local following. But the pressures of owning a liquor license - and trying to craft a new identity for a location that had been a neighborhood icon had been for so long - led her to close the restaurant in 2007.

"I wanted it to be in the kitchen - [but] the liquor license and everything was a lot of responsibility," said Brown. "So I closed the doors and walked away."

Brown also felt it was the right thing to do given that at the time, her husband was sick, and her daughter had just won Miss Pennsylvania 2007, a crown that came with a lot of responsibilities.

Johnson - then a server at various local restaurants, including Steven Starr's new Parc - had entered the contest to boost her profile in the acting world.

She won with an impressive platform promoting a foundation she had established a few years ago, Republic of Promise, which she hopes will one day bring education to children of war-torn Liberia.

"I was in Liberia in college, and I am truly passionate about trying to connect children there with creative arts and an agricultural program," she said.

Brown may have taken a break from the food industry, but she was still stewing over what to do. Until one day this past fall, when she literally woke up and looked out the window of her Germantown Avenue home to see a "For Rent" sign on the rowhouse directly across the street.

"Sometimes God puts something at your feet," she said.

Added Johnson, "I knew . . . this was the thing to do."

The pair transformed the bottom floor into a jewel box of black-damask-swathed chairs and banquets, with white linen tablecloths.

Chandeliers drip beads and New Orleans-inspired fleur-de-lis ornaments. Nine tables seat only 26 people total. A chalkboard painted back wall alerts diners of the evening's specials.

Brown and Johnson know they face stiff competition.

Chestnut Hill has stalwart bistro-style favorites like the Chestnut Hill Hotel's Chestnut Grill & Sidewalk Cafe, the Solaris Grill and the Tavern on the Hill, that draw loyal crowds.

But recently, fresh new additions - from Persian to Cuban - have popped up on Germantown Avenue, giving Soul's owners hope that their venue has arrived at the right time.

"My wife and I would always go to the Chestnut Grill or Solaris," said Soul devotee Richard Leps. "One night we walked the whole street and found Soul and looked at the menu and said, 'It looks intimate,' and it was out of this world."

Tuesday through Saturday nights, Brown's in the kitchen, a small galley with a single gas stove, microwave and refrigerator.

Johnson works as the hostess and server. She also does all the morning runs for fresh ingredients from South Philly's Food Distribution Center.

Johnson still dreams of a career as an actress. Brown still dreams of being a stylist - only now, she's dreaming about creating a clothing line for female chefs.

But most importantly, they're dreaming everything together.

"Now, I walk across the street every day," said Brown, "walk through the front door and walk into my heart." *

Soul, 8136 Germantown Ave., 215-248-8800. Open for dinner, 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; dessert served till 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Menu prices range from $5 to $23. BYOB, cash only.

E-mail April Lisante at

lisanta@phillynews.com.