Shaw-naé Dixon is behind a popular soul food restaurant in Staten Island, NY.
Dixon’s interest in cooking dates back to her time in the kitchen with her grandmother, her website reads. She would continue to nurture her skills at church and a local soup kitchen.
“My grandmother was a dietician for over 40 years, and I know that my grandmother taught me a lot of different recipes when I was growing up,” Dixon said during an interview with Bon Appétit. “And it wasn’t necessarily about the recipes and the food, it was about the technique and making sure that I could feed a lot of people at one time.“
In her adult years, Dixon first pursued a career in education. For over a decade, she was a teacher. However, she was pushed into her true calling of becoming a restaurateur after spending time in a coma.
“Following a very, I won’t say difficult time, but a pivotal time in my life when I was in a coma, when I woke up, I said, ‘Chase your legacy and not the luxury.’ Opening up a restaurant was something I discovered I needed to do,” she explained to the outlet.
Dixon took a bold leap, leaving her teaching career behind to open soul food venture Shaw-naé’s House, despite lacking adequate funding. The journey wasn’t easy. For the first two and a half years, there was hardly any foot traffic, she shared. However, persistence paid off as locals began to take notice of the restaurant, which has since gained widespread recognition for its standout menu featuring jerk chicken, pork spare ribs, oxtail with white rice, and smothered turkey wings. In fact, it was featured in The New York Times has one of the best restaurants in New York City.
“I am historically the only restaurant on Staten Island to ever receive two stars in the New York Times and then put on the top 100 best restaurants, and it was done with six tables, 32 seats. We sell out of food every single weekend. Soul food is a passage,” she expressed to Bon Appétit.
