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This story was produced as part of Next City’s joint Equitable Cities Reporting Fellowship with Resolve Philly’s Germantown Info Hub.

When the Rev. Dr. James H. Buck opens the second location of his barbecue joint in Mt. Airy this fall, he already knows where his new hires are coming from.

In early May, he visited a state correctional institution and came home with five pages of names — people scheduled for release by year’s end, many of them with food service experience, all of them needing work. The interviews have already begun.

Inspired by Buck’s grandmother’s recipes and his own past growing up in Mississippi, the eatery’s barbecue and soul food dishes have become a hit in Northwest Philly. And since 2020, Southern Flames BBQ has employed more than 40 returning citizens, as well as at-risk youth and disabled veterans — people “whose backs are against the margins of society,” he says.

The model may seem risky to many, but it’s paying off, he says: “It’s been a good six years. We’ve never run in the red, and we’ve always been in a 22% margin of profit.”

Formerly incarcerated Americans are unemployed at an estimated rate of over 27%, according to The Prison Policy Initiative, and people with criminal records are 50% less likely to receive callbacks from employers.

Manny West, who joined Southern Flames as a cook in its first year, knows that firsthand.

“There’s a lot of different businesses, [no] matter what line of work you’re in, that aren’t ex-offender friendly,” West says. “A lot of people just look at you and see what you have done in the past, and never see the person that you are today. Everybody deserves a second chance.”

A growing number of restaurants and small businesses across the city agree. Down North Pizza in North Philly, as well as Out West and Black Dragon Take-out in West Philly – all founded within the last six years — all make a point of hiring formerly-incarcerated workers.

Ministry by another name

Buck, who serves as pastor at Grace Baptist Church of Germantown on Johnson St., sees his barbecue restaurant as an extension of his spiritual mission.

“It’s ministry for me,” says Buck. “There’s a lot of things in our community that we need to reintroduce to our people and children to demonstrate a level of resurrection or resuscitation of life. We talk a lot about trying to get jobs, but we lack creating jobs.”

His doctoral research at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School planted the seed of the mission that would soon become his life’s commitment. Buck’s dissertation documented his former church’s efforts to “reduce the revolving door of incarceration” and use “its resources to shift the culture of criminal acceptance in its local community” in North Philadelphia. 

“The African American church has a lot to say and contribute when it comes to recreating this idea of economic equity within our communities,” he says. Local churches and institutions, he argues, have a “responsibility and a capability of creating organizations, LLCs, and businesses that would help the marginalized.”

Buck and his wife — Southern Flames BBQ’s co-founder Jennifer Wilson Buck — began thinking of more tangible ways to practice what they preached. Initially, they imagined creating a barbershop where they would train and hire returning citizens and at-risk youth. After some early tests fell flat, they began considering a barbecue concept instead.

In 2019, the same year that he completed his dissertation, the Bucks launched an experiment, selling barbecue out of their Germantown home and hiring neighborhood youth to help. Then word of mouth took over.

Fanning the flames

In 2019, Rev. Dr. Buck submitted a proposal to the City Council and received a $500 grant from now-Mayor Cherelle Parker. But that wouldn’t get his business far.

“Me and my wife took out all of our savings, which was about $30,000, and we bought up all the big [kitchen] equipment,” Buck says. “We spent our credit cards to the max to start hiring people, and what we ended up doing is using all those resources to get this business started.”

Southern Flames BBQ served food at events around town until June 2020, when it became a vendor at the Market at the Fareway, an indoor farmer’s market in Chestnut Hill. The community support they had built up was visible.

“We had a line all the way out the door,” Buck says. “On our first day, we were very successful, but it came with a lot of learning pains.” He recalls the chaos of his first time running an eatery, with 12 employees working in a small space at once. 

That won’t be an issue in their new Mt. Airy location, which will be a larger sit-down restaurant and sports bar with an expanded menu.

“Expansion is necessary,” he says. “Being able to keep those persons gainfully employed, that’s where we need the expansion. That’s where we need to try and raise those grants and funds.”

In 2021, the business was selected to be a part of the Branching Up program from the Lenfest Center for Community Workforce Partnerships at Temple University, which supports businesses that focus on hiring returning citizens. Participants were paid $17.50 an hour to job train and partake in the program, and Southern Flames received a $11,000 grant.

Buck used the funds to install a small computer lab in the restaurant space and to launch his nonprofit A Taste of a Second Chance, where returning citizens can engage in hands-on culinary lessons and job training while learning how to set up bank accounts and manage finances.

“Many of them coming out of the institutions have never had a bank account in their name, and they’ve never had debit cards,” Buck says. “In our program, not only do we teach you how to do the cooking, but we teach hard and soft life skills. When we say that we’re willing to take a person on and help them rebuild their lives, we mean this in the fullest capacity.”

Jennifer Watson, who also cooks in the restaurant and deals more with customer service, says she’s found a home with Southern Flames. 

“I was an outsider since I was young — I couldn’t really fit in, and if I did, it wasn’t the right people to hang out with; always getting in trouble and stuff,” Watson says. “I’m glad I found this place. I see myself here in the future. I have a job for the next 15 years.”

Germantown Info Hub is one of 30 news organizations powering the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative. This article is part of a national initiative exploring how geography, policy, and local conditions influence access to opportunity. Find more stories at economicopportunitylab.com

Pryce Jamison is Germantown Info Hub’s community engagement reporter and a Next City Equitable Cities Reporting Fellow. He covers Germantown and Philadelphia, with reporting that includes features, news, solution-focused and community-focused stories.