This Puerto Rican–Southern Restaurant Is the Soul of a North Carolina Neighborhood

"In downtown Durham I watched this Puerto Rican–Southern restaurant wind down for the night while its owners—wife-and-husband team Serena and Toriano (Tori) Fredericks—moved effortlessly between front of house and kitchen, tending to patrons and even a regular, James, who drops by daily for a Coke. What began as the Soul Patrol food truck evolved into a 40-seat brick-and-mortar with a covered patio that holds upward of 75, opened in November 2019 after a pop-up on the American Tobacco Campus; its decor includes upside-down calderos as light fixtures and a large Victor Knight mural that traces the couple’s family journey. The menu is a heartfelt intersection of Puerto Rican and Southern flavors—hoecakes, alcapurrias, jibaritos, pernil mac and cheese, sweet potato cheesecake empanadas, vegan Lawry’s-seasoned collards, and a fiery pique (pepper-vinegar relish)—and their desserts include strawberry crunch and hummingbird cake slices from Tony’s Cake House. They source local ingredients (notably collards from Stanley Hughes of Pine Knot Farms), carry smaller local beers like Spaceway’s Don Dada stout, host live jazz Sundays to support musicians, offer catering and a still-running food truck, and recently opened a stall at the ballpark; through the pandemic they all but lived at the restaurant, leaning on and giving back to a tight-knit community that kept them afloat." - Von Diaz