Poppa B’s cuisine brings new meaning to true soul food

Serghino René

Ask any businessman what the most important factor in creating a successful enterprise is, and you’re likely to hear three words:

Location, location, location.

Boyce Slayman Jr., co-owner of soul food restaurant Poppa B’s, was on the money when he chose to set his restaurant in the heart of Blue Hill Avenue, tucked between Mattapan Square and Grove Hall. Since its debut in January, Slayman’s family-run business has gained quite a positive reputation in the neighborhood.

“It didn’t have to be in Blue Hill Ave,” says Slayman Jr. “It was originally supposed to be in Codman Square on Washington Street. [But] now that we’re in between Mattapan and Dorchester, it feels good to be in the midst of traffic.”

And Slayman Jr. has dedicated himself to making sure the traffic stays bumper to bumper. “I’m up early,” he says. “I’m the first to get here and the last to leave.”

On Mondays, when Poppa B’s is closed, it’s common to see disgruntled customers at the restaurant’s locked door. Slayman Jr. recounts one Monday morning at the restaurant.

“An angry mother, with two kids in the back seat, came out just to curse me and tell me that my restaurant should be opened on Mondays,” says Slayman Jr. “All she wanted was fried chicken.”

Needless to say, she came back the next day, the day after that and the day after that. Now that’s when you know your food is good.

“When you see a need for your products and services, it makes you feel good,” says Slayman Jr.

For Slayman Jr., the restaurant is not his only responsibility. As of last week, he became a father to a baby girl, Sanaa Choyce Slayman.

“I knew I had to succeed before because I’d be the only one failing. Now, it’s different. I have someone depending on me,” says Slayman Jr. “Being the first to come and last to leave the restaurant is going to have to change soon.”

Poppa B’s wasn’t an idea that sprung up overnight. It was a developing process that started back when Slayman was co-owner of another restaurant, which is no longer open. The partnership didn’t work out, so he moved on.

Poppa B’s started off as a small catering business where Slayman Jr. made anything and everything. As his clientele grew, he found himself making more and more soul food. He asked his father, Boyce Sr., to be his business partner and together they made their small catering business into the restaurant that the community knows today.

Since February, sales have tripled and Slayman Jr. says the business has reached its financial goal “and then some.” On a busy day, service is non-stop, but Slayman Jr. says it feels good. “You don’t know it feels good until it is all over,” he says.

“Finally, people now have someplace to go when they want some solid soul food,” says Slayman. “Soul food isn’t just fried chicken.”