Today we’d like to introduce you to Wilson Harrison III
Hi Wilson, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
After 6 months of running the pop-up restaurant with long lines, the team took the courage and opened their first mobile food truck in April 2020 in a thriving Urban are in Houston, Texas. we had to open a food truck because this was the time during Covid 19 when restauarnts were required to shut down their businesses. Demand for our crave-able hot fried chicken exceeded all expectations and sales have grown every month since opening with consistently great quality food and awesome experience. We went from one food truck in 2020 to 3 food trucks now in 2024. Also we have another brick and mortar in houston 3rd Ward. We now have transformed and revamped the menu to brunch and soul food. We now have a crowd of people that we haven’t seen before compared to our first location in 2019. We have been grateful to open up a brick & mortar in the Greater 3rd Ward area across the street from Macgregor Park. I started the business once i graduated from college in 2019. I used to work for various food companies in the houston area such as Chic Fil A and also Aramark. When I worked with these companies I learned how they operated on business level and took my knowledge, with my skill set and put it into my own restaurant scheme. Ever since i have done that i have been successful in the food industry. I have had a lot of encounters being in the food industry such as food prices going up and customers don’t want the prices to go up. So I didn’t try to change my prices to keep our customers happy in such a hard time in the world. I wanted to start this brand to give job opportunities as well as to serve good quality food in the area we serve. I also have hired some family as well to help and contribute to the company as well. We have struggled to keep up with rent payments and utilities at our brick & Mortar due to low sales in the area. We have solely been relying on our food truck to bring in all the revenue at this current time. Some things that make me proud of my business is hearing customers come in and say “I remember when you started at the Power Center not having no one coming to your food truck to now seeing you with a brick & mortar making people smile”. That statement alone made me feel good because here is someone who does not know us at all and still believed and watched our vision and didn’t give up on us. Those type of testimonies keep me pushing to stay open for business even through the hardest times in the economic crisis. Also, having one customer come in and say “I have watched you all from the start. I first bought cajun pasta from you all food truck and been loving it ever since. We don’t get Pasta from no where else but you all location because it has that special touch”. That make me know I actually have something going good with the company. I just have to keep pushing and not give up. In order to get to the top you will run into obstacles.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
1. Inventory Shrinkage and Waste – One of the most common restaurant problems is inventory shrinkage and waste. This is caused by several factors, including poor stock management, theft, and spoiled food, which can result in high food costs.
2. Dining Room Capacity Restrictions – Many restaurants still need to impose capacity restrictions on restaurants, making it difficult to profit. One solution is to focus on curbside pick up and delivery, which don’t have the same capacity limitations. Another option is outdoor dining, which expands more readily than indoor space.
3. Heavy Labor Costs – Labor costs are one of the biggest overhead expenses for the restaurant and can significantly affect the profit margin. To reduce the labor cost, you can do a few things. One is to automate as much as possible, such as using restaurant online ordering systems. Another is to carefully consider your menu and ensure that every dish is profitable. It’s best to streamline your operations to require fewer wait staff. The prime cost of a restaurant is the cost of goods sold plus the labor cost. Therefore, you also reduce your overall prime cost by reducing labor costs. This improves your bottom line and makes your restaurant more profitable.
4. Employee Retention – Several factors, including high turnover rates, cause the restaurant industry labor shortage. High employee turnover is a big problem for restaurants. It leads to decreased productivity and higher training costs. It is hard for us to keep kitchen staff. People come in and work for a little then quit or stop showing up. To reduce employee turnover, creating a positive work environment is vital. This includes things like providing training and development opportunities, offering competitive salaries, and showing appreciation for employees.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The Ultimate Kitchen is a company that give the opportunity to felons in the Houston area that can’t get jobs because of there record. This give people the equal opportunity in the job market with us. We currently have over 15 job slots available at this current moment. We are trying to do give backs in the community such as toy drives and cook turkeys and ham and give them away on Thanksgiving. This is something we try to do every year in the local community. We offer a life skills program aimed at women who have been impacted by family violence. The Ultimate Kitchen provides a unique, strengths based learning pathway to prevent homelessness or help out violent criminals who are trying to change over. We believe in people changing in their community. We also work closely with a Non – Profit to feed at risk children in the surrounding neighborhoods and give to the less fortunate. The Ultimate Kitchen is a family friendly restaurant. We offer different variety of foods to the surrounding area. We are also offering jobs for citizens. We serve soul food, american, seafood, and brunch. We offer a live dj and also contactless payments. I specialize in my chef craft. I cook oxtails that we are known for at the restaurant. Also, i specialize in the brunch menu that we have brought to the community.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
When I was a child i would always take things apart and rebuild them. Examples such as a vacuum, chairs, and my toys. I find it funny because everyone thought i would be a mechanic. I went to college and got a degree in construction engineering and safety management. I have always been a hands on person. So being a restaurant owner i feel you should be hands on in your business. So i feel that trait growing up helped be in the long haul of my restaurant business. Everyone in my family would laugh and be like you always taking things apart. They thought i didn’t know how to put it back together. Now everyone in my family always be like “I remember when you was kid taking things apart to now owning your own business”.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://theultimatekitchenhouston.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeultimatekitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeUltimateKitchen
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ultimatekitchin
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theultimatekitchen
