Now Serving Second Chances

"Hardworking," "responsible," "years of experience" are phrases most employers like to see on a résumé, but "criminal record"?

That doesn't deter Edna Stewart, who has run a soul food restaurant on Chicago's West Side for more than 40 years. She's been passionate about helping the underdog since opening the restaurant with her dad and her husband in 1966. Back in the day, Martin Luther King, Jr., and his supporters in the civil rights movement would refuel on Edna's famous pancakes and biscuits free of charge. "I got to hug Rosa Parks!" Edna marvels. Other noted customers include John F. Kennedy, Jr., and former president Jimmy Carter.

But the people who impress Edna on a daily basis are the ex-convicts who work for her as dishwashers, stockers and servers. A nearby halfway house contacted her in the early 1990s asking if she'd consider hiring their clients. The men wanted to transition back to regular life, which, of course, meant steady employment. Edna's happy to give them an opportunity but early on lets the new hires know she expects them to work hard and move on to bigger things. Isn't she scared to work with former felons? "I've never had any trouble," she says. "I've helped them and they've helped me."

Edna needs the help. She works 18 hours a day, beginning with shopping for ingredients at eight or nine stores. Then she assumes a kitchen director role, helping the cooks create the soul food specialties that keep her customers coming back. Some have been stopping in for their "usual" since the doors first opened. Their favorites include the pancakes, fried steak, catfish, okra, peach cobbler and above all, the biscuits. "I do the best biscuits on earth," she declares.

Edna started cooking at age seven. "I used to stay in the kitchen 'cause I liked to eat a lot," she says. Her mom taught her to make dishes like succotash, roast beef, layer cake and potato salad. Whenever her mom suffered one of her debilitating migraine headaches, her young protégés would take over, climbing up on cola crates to reach the stove. "I've always loved being in the kitchen," says Edna. Only these days she's serving up second chances along with second helpings.